


Wish

by bertererei



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Battle Royale - Freeform, Child Soldiers, Emotional Trauma, Foul Language, Gen, Inspired by Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero, Mental/Physical/Emotional child abuse, Modern Fantasy AU, Needless gore, OOC, PTSD, Unnecessarily gruesome violence, War, light manga spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 79
Words: 62,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertererei/pseuds/bertererei
Summary: And what will you sacrifice in order to have your wish granted?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 145





	1. Logistics: The Great Titan War

**Author's Note:**

> I can't focus.
> 
> Please note that while this was inspired by Fate/Stay Night and its prequel Fate/Zero, it is not a FSN or FZ AU. While borrowing some ideas from them, it'll do its own thing. Please don't come here expecting this story to be like FSN or FZ, especially not the NTR or the porn (You are welcomed to imagine it but this story will not deal with it). What you can expect from this story is magecraft (aka all magic is run by "circuits" inside of a mage's body. These circuits get better with each generation, so family lineage is a huge deal), a battle royale of sorts in order to have one's wish granted (and these fights are fought by summoning someone else to fight for you), and dark/uncomfortable topics like mental/emotional/physical child abuse, emotional trauma, etc. You know, the typical things fans of SNK are used to.
> 
> I will be using the Marley Arc characters, so there are light spoilers for SNK in terms of characters. But do note that I'm scrambling everyone around so people who never met in canon will. Because why not, right? Yay freedom of fanfics!
> 
> So as always, suspend your disbelief for a blood fes to have your wish granted by the Founding Titan.
> 
> Warning: Inspired by Fate/Stay Night & Fate/Zero. Modern Fantasy AU. Battle Royale. Light manga spoilers. Character deaths. Unnecessarily gruesome violence. Needless gore. Mental/Emotional/Physical child abuse. Emotional trauma. General PTSD. Politics. OOC. Foul language. War

The Great Titan War.

Any civilian hearing it would believe it to be something out of a fantasy book or a game. But any self-respecting mage would know exactly what it means.

It's an event that occurs every 300 years or so, hidden from the rest of the world but the mages. Eight mages (called "Masters" during the duration of this War) form a contract with a Titan and fight to the death. The last survivor is granted one wish by the Founding Titan, who is believed to have set up this system.

In all 5 times this War has been fought, there has been just one instance of a clear victor whose wish was granted. All other times, the War ended in a "draw" due to the death of all eight Masters.

In the first two Wars, the Masters fought alone with their partnered Titan. But as time passed, it became more and more obvious to the mages the benefits of having a network of people backing you. Although only eight Masters can officially participate in the War, there are plenty of ways to get around this by forming allegiances and groups.

Currently, there are five known groups that plan on participating in the upcoming 6th Great Titan War. The Tybur Family (The family that was able to seize victory from a previous War, led by their family head, Willy Tybur), the Survey Corps (led by the charismatic Erwin Smith), the Military Police (led by the ever pragmatic Nile Dawkes), the Garrison (led by the eccentric Dot Pixis), and the Marley (led by the War Hero General Calvi). The last three open position as of now are left unknown. It won't be until the start of the War that random mages will be able to snatch a position for themselves.

Since all mages must swear an oath to never involve a non-mage civilian in their business, it became vital to have someone neutral to preside over the War and keep casualties and destruction to a minimum. The Reiss Family was appointed to this position during the 2nd War. Their duty is to prevent civilians from finding out about this War by covering up and providing excuses for the Masters to use. Due to this important role, the Reiss Family is the only mage family to be forbidden from participating in a War.

The War will officially begin once all eight Titans have been summoned. Until then, it is strictly forbidden to attack any of the participating members. The longest it has ever taken for a War to begin has been three years. Luckily for the participants of the 6th Great War, they only have to wait one month since the first summoning to begin their bloodshed.


	2. Summoning: Survey Corps

"Don't people typically wait so they're not the first to summon?" Hange Zoe says lightly as they set up the summoning circle on the ground.

Erwin Smith smiles. "I'm too impatient a man to wait."

"It's disadvantageous for us, though," Mike Zacharius points out with a worried frown. "Everyone will know exactly what we summoned."

"I have no intention of hiding our Titan," Erwin assures them.

He glances over at Levi, who is scolding a younger mage for tracking dirt into the room. Even though a potential life-changing event is about to occur within minutes, Levi is still prioritizing cleanliness as always, huh? Erwin chuckles.

"With Levi as the Master, there's just one Titan that he will be able to use to full potential. Before it gets taken, we will summon it."

Mike doesn't look very comforted by those words. "But does it have to be _that_ Titan? We have plenty other mages-"

"But Levi's an Ackerman," Erwin reminds him. "That alone makes him the best."

Magic relies heavily on bloodline and lineage. In order to have the best possible "circuitry" in a mage's body to use the optimal amount of magic, they should be at least fourth generation mage in their family. Unfortunately, both Mike and Erwin are second generation mages (Hange is a first generation). To use subpar mages as themselves for the upcoming War is not an option Erwin is willing to take. Not when they're gunning for victory.

So he recruited Levi.

The family name "Ackerman" is well-known among the mages. They are a family of mages that have been around since before the Great Titan War. Levi doesn't seem to know (or care, for that matter) the exact number of generation he is, but the fact that the Ackerman blood flows through his veins is more than enough proof that Levi is the perfect man for this job.

Their wish will be the one granted at the end of this War.

*

"Ready?"

Levi doesn't answer verbally. Instead, he raises his cut hand in the air and drops his blood on the summoning circle on the ground before him. The circle glows gold for a second before overflowing with magic. The connection to the other world has been made. All that's left is to call upon a Titan to answer.

Without a pause for hesitation or confirmation from Erwin, Levi pushes on.

"Hey sleepyhead, it's time to fight. Answer my call."

Any self-respecting mage would have called Levi's summons a bastardization of summoning call that is disrespectful and downright rude. If it wasn't for his magic and his family name, Levi would have long been put down by the prideful mage community. But as it is, even a Titan can't seem to refuse a call from an Ackerman.

The peaceful golden glow of the summoning circle becomes erratic. Some parts of the circle sparks with a green glow, charging that small area with more magic than a second-generation mage will ever have in their entire lifetime (In actuality, this amount of magic is something that not even a fourth-generation mage would be able to produce). Each spark fizzles out and leaves behind a puff of smoke. It doesn't take long for the smoke to fill the entire room, obscuring vision.

Due to how the War is timed, most people do not live to witness multiple Wars. But everyone knows what the Titans look like. They are approximately somewhere between 13 meters to 20, with the Colossal Titan being the only exception at 60 meters. If not for magic, these Titans' fights will decimate the country a thousand times over. The theory is that their huge bodies allow them for more circuitry to store magic. This is probably why the War takes place every 300 years or so, so that the Titans can store enough magic for the next one.

Keeping this size in mind, Erwin bought this airship yard and emptied it of all airships. There should be more than enough space for the Titan that they're aiming for to comfortably fit inside of this space without feeling cramped.

Or at least, that had been his plan.

Twin green eyes glow in the smoke-filled room. From the dim silhouette that they can slowly make out, Erwin gets the inkling of a feeling that this Titan is a lot larger than first advertised.

The silhouette of the mouth slowly opens, releasing more smoke into the room.

"Are you my Master?"

Levi is the only one standing on the circle. Everyone else has been ordered to the edges of the room. This question is more likely just a formality than an honest question. But it must have irked Levi anyways.

"Can't you tell just by looking? Or are those eyes of yours just for show?" Levi growls.

Mike shoots Erwin a look that clearly says that they shouldn't have relied on someone like Levi. Erwin can only give his friend what he hopes is a calming smile in return. He can't afford to doubt Levi now. They've come too far for that.

"And stop it with this stupid smoke. You'll give someone lung cancer."

Erwin cannot doubt Levi. He cannot. But Levi is making it really hard right now.

There's a small pause. Then there's a small rumbling, shaking the ground of the room that they're in. The smoke around them disappears with a strong gust of wind that forces the mages to cover their eyes. When the wind dies down, they look back to see that the silhouette and the green glowing eyes are no longer there. In their place is...

Erwin at first believes they're looking at a young lady of perhaps 20 years of age. Her shoulders are shaking with laughter. Then she pushes her long brown hair back and looks at the Survey Corps mages with a smirk. It reveals the messy stubble on "her" chin, leading Erwin to realize his mistake. The young man's eyes swirl with magic, letting them know exactly what he is. But aside from his eyes, he looks like an average human. He has on a green shirt that's covered mostly by a black hoodie. He wears black pants and no shoes.

"So there's still a mage with a spine left!"

The young man with green eyes walks forward until he stands right in front of Levi, completely obliterating the shields that Erwin's mages painstakingly put together to protect their summoner. Levi's shortness becomes even more prominent next to this Titan. Erwin does his best to ignore the worried look on Mike's face.

Of all the Titans to summon from, Erwin chose the Attack Titan to be Levi's. Anyone looking from the outside would believe that Erwin has given up. After all, the Attack Titan is known as a bloodthirsty Titan that will kill its own Master (has done so in three previous Wars) for the sake of one more battle. But Erwin believes that if there's anyone who can control this kind of berserker Titan, it would be an Ackerman.

"Then, my Midget of a Master, let's make this very clear now. Point me to exterminate the other Titans. Enemies or allies, it matters not. And when you run out lives to sacrifice, I'll devour your soul."

The Attack Titan casually releases his magic, using it as a pressure to push everyone within the room down to the ground. A show of power to see how his new Master will react, huh? So far, the Attack Titan doesn't seem to match up to the bloodthirsty image Erwin has been led to believe. No, he seems a lot more cunning.

Which is the truth?

Levi grabs his Titan by the front of his shirt and pulls him down so that they're at eye-level. He seems to be inspecting something with scrutiny. The Attack Titan seems too confused to be able to react to this properly. The magical pressure he put on them releases. His smirk is frozen on his face as his eyes glance around the room as if to asses everyone else's reaction. Erwin won't be surprised if the Attack Titan is starting to realize from their shocked faces that Levi is just this kind of a man.

"Hey, how long has it been since you cleaned yourself?" Levi asks, his voice a low growl.

Levi, is this really the time to be asking that?

"C-cleaned?" the Attack Titan asks in a surprisingly timid manner. Is he the type to get shy when he's caught off-guard? Erwin makes a note of that.

"Shower, shave, maybe trim your hair."

The Attack Titan looks uneasy now. "Why does that matter? It's not like I'm a real human."

Levi releases him with a disgusted look on his face.

"You dare to call yourself mine when you're this dirty? Forget fighting until you make yourself presentable. Got it?"

"The hell would I listen-"

Erwin watches in sheer disbelief as Levi kicks the Attack Titan. The young man, probably because he was caught off-guard, falls to the ground. Levi steps on his Titan's chest and sneers down.

"Got it?" Levi repeats.

There's a stunned pause before the other mages rush to tell Levi off. But by then, the damage has already been done.

The Attack Titan laughs.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy ripping you to shreds," he says with a grin without any charm.

When Mike shoots Erwin a look this time, Erwin can't even bring himself to smile. Even he can't quite believe that Levi was the correct person to pin all of their hopes on anymore.

He needs to find someone else to take over as a Master fast.


	3. Hange's Titan Observation 1

"Study me?" the Attack Titan asks as it towels its hair dry.

"Only with your permission, of course," Hange reiterates. "There's just so little information about Titans in general. I thought it'll be nice to put together something for the future generations."

"You're one of those types, huh? Yeah, that's fine. I don't really care. It's not like your studies will make it past this War."

Hange's next question gets interrupted by a light kick to her butt.

"Move out of the way, Shitty Four-Eyes," Levi growls.

Levi Squad members apologize to Hange, but Hange's assistant Moblit Berner waves it away with a "She deserved it." Hange would be more insulted if Moblit didn't look so tired from staying up all night with her to look up every last bit of information they can get their hands on about Titans. He's probably testy because he didn't get any sleep. Jeesh, Moblit is so weak! Where's his sense of adventure?

Petra is holding a tray of grooming materials, so Hange doesn't have to guess too hard about why the Levi Squad is suddenly here. But do they have to do that now? She just got the Attack Titan's permission, so she wants to start her studies right away.

"Your order is wrong. You're supposed to ask the owner for permission."

Hange waves her hand in the air, laughing. "I already asked Erwin and got the okay!"

"I meant me, Shit-Face. You're supposed to ask the Master to pet their dog first."

She glances at the Attack Titan to gauge its reaction to such strong words. But it seems that their Titan is distracted from talking to Petra and Oluo to have heard. Darn. She'll have to prompt for a reaction later then.

"It's fine, it's fine! Erwin owns you, so it all works out!"

Hange receives a scowl in return. But that's all the attention Levi is willing to spare her, because he turns to his Titan and picks up the razor from the tray that Petra is holding.

"So you haven't showered in the last 300 years since the last War?" Levi asks casually as he places the razor against his Titan's neck.

"Levi, you need shaving cream first," Hange reminds him.

Jeesh, what a klutz. How did he forget something so important? Maybe Levi is one of those people who can't grow a beard so he doesn't know how to do this? Then shouldn't someone else take care of this? It'll be bad if Levi accidentally hurts their Titan before Hange can start her experiments.

The Attack Titan doesn't look very impressed by the situation. "You seem to be under a misconception here. As my Master, bother to be educated, won't you? It's embarrassing."

It grabs Levi's hand that's holding the razor and digs it into its own neck, drawing blood. Hange notes that the Attack Titan keeps a tight enough hold to prevent Levi from withdrawing.

"H-hey, stop-"

Hange motions for Moblit and the rest of Levi Squad to stand down. The Attack Titan is a bloodthirsty monster that delights in fights. There's no way that it'll take itself out with something as meager as this. Therefore, it stands to reason that they're about to learn something fun about Titans.

"If you want to commit suicide, do it by your own hands," Levi says flatly.

The Attack Titan smiles sweetly and releases Levi's hand. Then it motions towards the cut on his neck. Light steam covers the injury and the leftover blood on the blade of the razor. Within seconds, they all disappear, leaving no trace of any injury behind.

"It's that simple," the Attack Titan says. "I am not a 'dog.' I am a tool. As long as you supply me with magic, I will heal like this."

"W-what about your big form? Is it the same?"

"You mean my 'Titan' form? Yeah. It's the same. It's just that the amount of magic involved is more. So most normal mages can't sustain their Titans in that form for a long time. Ah, I should also mention. We have a third form. Our 'spirit' form. It allows us to hide from view and get around undetected for the most part. That form takes no magic from our Master, so it's typically the form we stay in. If your magic falls too low, that's the form I'll be forced to take."

What considerate monsters. Automatically defaults to preserve their Master's life, huh? If a mage runs low on magic, they can still stubbornly use it by exchanging their life. Given that, a Titan could potentially kill their Master by expanding more magic than what their Master has. It's the reason why stronger mages (and therefore, at least a fourth generation mage) are generally preferred.

Hange giggles. How exciting! How exciting! This is way more information than she could've ever dreamed of as a child when she was flipping through the history books of mages to learn as much as she can about these mysterious beings called Titans. As a first generation mage, there's only so much that she can accomplish. To not only be blessed to be born during the time of a Great Titan War but also be part of a group like the Survey Corps...

This has to be destiny.

"If that's how it works, then can't you use magic to change how you look in this form? You don't need to be groomed or anything, right?" she asks.

The Attack Titan shakes its head no. "Unlike my other forms this one grows and changes for the same amount of time that I've been summoned. For example, if a War lasts a few years, this form will age. And when I'm next summoned again, I'll be the same age as I was when the previous War ended."

"So even after all that hoopla, you're just a brat who hasn't showered or shaved in years," Levi concludes. "Do you even know how to? Hold still. I'm only going to show you this once, so learn it well."

Hange watches as the Attack Titan furrows its brows and stares at Levi. Then it glances around the room, possibly trying to figure out the man that has called it here. Seen like this, the terrifying Attack Titan seem like an awkward child who has never been shown any kind of affection before. Are all the Titans like this? Or is this because the Attack Titan has always been a battle-focused maniac that it doesn't know how to react?

"That means Levi likes you," Hange mock-whispers to the Attack Titan. "He normally won't even touch someone he considers 'dirty.' Like me, for instance! Hahaha!"

"Shut up, you."

The Attack Titan glances between Levi and Hange like this is a complicated puzzle. Can it still not figure this out? For a monster that has been summoned to fight so many times, it seems that this Titan is still quite young in terms of human relations. It's simple, though. There's nothing hard about it.

They're all eccentrics, united by Erwin's vision. As long as that goal stands before them to achieve, they'll work together.

"It's going to be annoying if you call me 'Master' in the middle of the streets and cause rumors. So address me as 'Levi' from now on," comes the nonchalant order that catches even Hange off-guard.

Oh? She didn't think Levi would say something so humane! Especially not after the Attack Titan's declaration of being a tool. Perhaps her own statement rang more true than she first realized.

"In return, I'll address you by your name."

"I can hide in my Spirit form," the Attack Titan protests. "There's no need for you to use your mag-"

Levi squeezes the Attack Titan's cheeks. "Listen, brat. I summoned you. That means the only thing you need to worry about is obeying me. I asked for a name."

"I-it's... Eren..."

"Was that so hard?" Levi releases his Titan.

Hange watches as Levi take care of the Attack Titan in an awkward but gentle kind of way. She makes a note to report this to Erwin.

*

Petra lets out a soft gasp and gently lifts the Attack Titan's chin up to examine its face once Levi finishes giving it a shave. There's an intensely terrifying look in her eyes as she seems to be searching for something.

"I-is something... wrong?" Eld asks, worriedly looking at her.

"Eren, are you sure you're a man?" Petra asks the Attack Titan in a serious tone of voice.

"I-I am..." comes the surprisingly meek answer.

Petra's lips pull into a sneer as she leans a bit too close. "Are you sure? Really, really sure? Why don't we strip you to make sure?"

"W-whoa, what's going on?" Eld steps in to put some space between Petra and the Attack Titan. The Attack Titan grips the back of Eld's shirt as if it's a scared child, hiding from a monster. And man, what a thought. To think Petra, of all people, will scare their bloodthirsty Titan.

"It's not fair that a man would have that smooth of a skin and look that beautiful! Handsome, I'd understand but beautiful? Apologize! Apologize right now to all women in the world!"

With alarm in his eyes, the Attack Titan stammers out, "I-I'm sorry?"

Petra lets out a frustrated growl and shoves Eld out of the way.

"I'm going to cut your hair to make you even more beautiful. Got that?"

"O-okay?"

Hange doesn't bother holding back her laughter. Not just Levi but Petra, too, huh? Then it's just a matter of time before the rest of Levi Squad follows. She can already see the headache Erwin will be sporting after this report. Not to mention... 

This Attack Titan is completely different from what's written in history books. Is that going to hinder them or help them? She's going to have to calculate this fast.

*

"Man, Levi! I didn't think you had it in you to be kind!" Hange laughs as they make their way to the daily meeting. "Treating a tool like it's your kid brother... Really, you do the weirdest things!"

Levi doesn't even blink at Hange's words. "You ever been to the slums? There's plenty of kids like our Attack Titan there. You show them just an ounce of affection and they return it a thousandfold."

"Pfft... Don't tell me you think a Titan will behave like a kid from the slums?"

Or, even more ridiculous, that this method hasn't been tried before.

"Whether he does or not, it'll be another thing for you to study, won't it?" Levi states.

Heh. Hange can't disagree there.

"But you have to admit that it's fascinating! We have little to no information about the Titans and-"

Levi groans. "Tell it to someone who cares, Shitty Glasses!"


	4. Summoning: Tybur Family

"To think that Erwin, of all people, will beat me to summoning a Titan," Willy Tybur says, shaking his head. "Impatient as always, that one. Even though he's just a third rate mage."

He finishes drawing the summoning circle on the ground and checks it against the notes left behind by his ancestors. The Tybur Family has always relied on just one Titan through all the Wars. By this point, this Titan could probably be considered their family's guardian angel.

The Warhammer Titan.

"Too bad for him, we're set to win this War."

Willy slices his hand and allows his blood to fall onto the circle below. The circle glows gold, acknowledging his blood as one from a mage.

_"Let silver and steel be the essence  
Let stone and our history be the foundation  
Let the blood of Tybur be the link  
I hereby declare  
Your body shall serve under me  
My fate shall be your sword  
Submit to the beckoning of my Call  
An oath shall be sworn here  
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven  
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell  
Come forth, oh Loyal Titan of my family!"_

Each Titan has a special way of responding to their summons. Willy can't say much about the other Titans, but the Warhammer responds by first piercing its future Master with magic. If the Master is deemed worthy, the Warhammer Titan will appear before the mage to participate in the War.

Despite having this heads-up, Willy is still caught off-guard by the sharp pain in his abdomen. There is no blood pouring out. He knows that. But he finds himself desperately gripping his stomach to stop the bleeding. It hurts, but he can't falter here. He will not be the first Tybur to be turned down by the Warhammer Titan.

"If it's for the sake of my wish, then I'll gladly pay any price," he decides.

The pain eases up and then disappears. Willy relaxes. He turns his attention towards the woman who has appeared in the middle of the summoning circle.

"The Warhammer Titan, I presume?" he asks.

"Correct. My Master, I presume?"

Willy nods. "Correct as well."

She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. In fact, her smile feels pretty cold. Willy was under the impression that the Warhammer Titan likes the Tybur Family. After all, why else would she have appeared before them time and time again? But this smile makes him reconsider that.

"What wish could you possibly have to want to participate in the Great Titan War?" she asks. "When your... 'ancestor' won, his wish was to make your family satisfied enough for all of you to stop participating."

That's why.

It's not that she doesn't like the Tybur Family, but she dislikes the fact that she has been summoned yet again to them when she believed that they should be happy. Time to throw some cold water at this dreaming Titan.

"That's... just the thing," he says with a sheepish laugh. "That wish? I want to undo it."

*

The Warhammer Titan sits on the couch across from Willy, sipping the tea the maid prepared for them. Willy offered some sweets as well, but she declined.

"Would you please explain to me why you wish to undo the success your family has been able to achieve?" she asks, her voice cold.

"Do you know what the difference is between a human and a livestock?"

She raises her elegant eyebrow, silently telling Willy she doesn't care. But Willy has this whole speech written and planned since he was a teen and he finally had the words to express the dissatisfaction he felt (still do) about his family. He has, of course, practiced saying these to his family members, maids, butlers, and whoever else he can get to listen. But the real reason why he crafted it was to tell his Titan.

So even if she doesn't want to hear, she's going to get the treat of Willy's careful wordsmithing.

"It's drive. Livestock is complacent. They live their lives day in and day out without worrying, without thinking, because everything is provided for them. Food, shelter, entertainment... There is no need to fear about anything. There are no predators. There is no competition."

Willy takes a moment to take a sip of his tea. It seems that the Warhammer Titan is tired of his yapping, because she lets out a soft sigh.

"So what you're saying is that thanks to the wish being granted, your family has essentially been living like livestock, correct?"

So cold! Willy wanted to be the one to say that! His carefully crafted speech... down the drain it goes...

"That's it exactly. I'm not saying that I want all of our successes to go away completely, since I am a pampered man who delights in this easy life. But my family looks more and more like pigs than humans to me. Just... a little bit of turbulence once in a while. Something to get our brains working again. I think that is the key to keeping us human."

"And for that reason, you decided to risk your life to fight in this War?" she asks.

Her voice isn't as cold this time, he notes. It seems sad, though.

Willy nods. "As I said, I'm willing to pay any price to have my wish granted."

Although there isn't a flicker of emotion on her face, he can't help but to think that she's annoyed. He wonders if this is the link between a Master and their Titan that has been recorded by his family.

"You won before. So you know the trick for that. All we have to do is-"

She shakes her head, cutting him off. "That tactic won't work anymore. The only reason it worked then was in part sheer dumb luck and your ancestor's willingness to abandon his allies at the right moment. That kind of fortune won't grace us twice."

"Then all we have to do is create an opportunity that Lady Fortune will not be able to resist," Willy declares.

Normally, when Willy says something like that, most people dismisses him as the spoiled brat of the Tybur Family who has been spoon-fed riches and successes all his life that he does not know reality. But this Titan before him does not do that. Instead, she tilts her head, watching him carefully.

Then she smiles.

Not coldly like when she was first summoned. But kindly. Almost fondly. It makes her look quite lovely.

"It seems my Master this time has done his homework. Alright. I'll hear you out."


	5. Hange's Titan Observation 2

"Eren, sit."

The Attack Titan glances at the breakfast set up at the table with the rest of the Levi Squad, Hange, and Moblit gathered around. Although Hange and Moblit already ate, they (by that Hange really means she) wanted to see a Titan eat. Since the Attack Titan has a human form, it should be able to, right? Does it eat like a normal person? Or maybe there's a different way that it consumes?

"I don't need to eat," comes the answer.

How boring!

"Can you not eat?" Levi asks.

There's a wary look on the Attack Titan's face. "I only look human. I don't have all the normal functions humans have. I can 'eat' food, but I'll have to use your magic to clean it out of my system."

"Okay. So what's the problem?"

The pause of silence is clearly due to confusion. The Attack Titan glances at the rest of them, silently asking for help again.

"That's his way of saying it's okay. Eat with us," Eld tells it.

"Listen, you brat. The Captain himself is inviting you to eat with us, his Squad. Do you know what kind of a special honor that is?" Oluo growls.

"Ignore him," Gunther sighs. "If it's magic, then all of us can chip in. Don't worry about that and try this."

"Come on, Eren. Join us," Petra adds gently.

Levi sips his tea, seemingly unconcerned about the decision. But Hange sees the side-glance he gives his Titan. As always Levi's too obvious about his own agendas. He should come clean already and say that he doesn't see their tool as just that.

The Attack Titan hesitates for a second longer before sitting down. It picks up the fork in front of it (with the left hand, Hange notes) and slowly tries the scrambled eggs. The members of Levi Squad watch carefully to see any reaction. But the Attack Titan keeps a neutral, if not a bit meek, expression on.

"How's it taste?" Hange asks, eager to know more about their Titan.

"Er... good? I'm... I'm not too sure how things are supposed to taste."

Hm? That red tinge on the Attack Titan's cheeks... It's blushing? Fascinating! So it can feel embarrassed!

Levi Squad members glance at one another before grinning.

"Here, try this," Gunther says, putting some blueberries on the Attack Titan's plate.

"No, no. What you need is a taste of this," Eld says, holding up maple syrup.

Petra clicks her tongue at them. "Children, move aside. Obviously what Eren needs is meat. This here is called bacon~ Say ah!"

"What?! Petra, don't you dare! I'm the one who said he should try bacon! Don't steal my food!" Oluo exclaims.

He must have gotten too excited, because he bites his tongue. Hange thinks she might have saw some blood, but humans never really interested her that much. She leaves the fretting to Moblit and turn her attention back to the Attack Titan.

With a concerned look on its face, the Attack Titan tries one blueberry. A second passes as the rest of the Levi Squad watches on. Those green eyes brighten before the Attack Titan quickly lowers its head, hiding its embarrassed blush.

"I-it's go-"

"No! Don't make a decision until you've tried everything!" Petra insists. "Bacon is much better!"

The Attack Titan glances towards Levi. Is it asking for permission? No, that's not quite it. It seems to be looking at the tea that Levi is drinking?

"Oh, do you want to try tea?" Hange guesses.

How cute. It's like when children want to mimic what the adults are doing around them!

"Let me pour you-"

Moblit is stopped by Levi's scoff. He holds his tea cup out to be passed to his Titan.

"Go ahead."

Ignoring the explosions of outrage from his squad members, Levi allows his tea cup to get to the hands of the Attack Titan by taking advantage of Moblit's kindness. Hange is curious to see what the reaction will be. So she lets it be for now. But later, she's going to remind Levi not to abuse her assistant. 

That's Hange's job.

The Attack Titan holds the cup delicately in its hands. It glances at the others nervously before turning its attention to the cup. Slowly, it takes a sip.

"Blergh."

Pink tongue sticks out in disgust as the Attack Titan's brows furrow.

Hange bursts out laughing at the same time the Levi Squad members begin to lecture the Attack Titan for his rudeness.

"You have no respect-"

"- and Captain Levi himself gave that to you!"

"If it was me, I'd-"

"Eren," Levi calls, silencing everyone. He stands up from his side of the table with a small bowl of sugar cubes. "Try it with this."

The Attack Titan gives him a wearisome look but obeys without another word. It puts one sugar cube in. Levi leans over and helps stir. Green eyes watch the movement with more curiosity now. Once Levi finishes, he makes a motion for it to try again.

Hange watches as those green eyes light up again in delight. Their Titan has a bit of a sweet tooth, huh? Is that because of the lack of food its had in all these years? Sort of like a newborn babe that has never tasted before, huh?

"It tastes better!" the Attack Titan reports, eyes shining.

Levi smirks. "Of course, it does. Tea always tastes great."

Should Hange point out that putting sugar cube in tea defeats the purpose? Well, she supposes she'll let them have this moment. But she better change her report to Erwin.

The chance to switch Masters has passed. Even the members of the Levi Squad look too fond of the Attack Titan to allow such a thing to pass.

Now the question becomes whether this affectionate treatment will change the Attack Titan's mind on killing its Master.

Hange chuckles.

This is way more fun than she could've ever imagined! She's so glad that Erwin accepted her application to join the Survey Corps.

*

Erwin's expression is as grim as she expected it would be.

"And do you think it's possible? For the Attack Titan to be tamed?"

"I need more data to determine that. But I'm hardpressed to believe that this method wasn't tried before," Hange says.

Erwin nods. "For now, keep your distance and continue your study. I'll be relying on you, Hange."

"No problem at all!"


	6. Summoning: The Garrison

"Two Titans have already been summoned, you say?" Pixis asks. The only sign of surprise on that old face is the smallest of quirk of his eyebrows. "I expected the Tyburs to jump on this, since they always summon the same thing. But to think Erwin was the first to summon... Young people sure are impatient! Haha!"

Anka lets out a sigh and shakes her head. "This is no laughing matter, sir. We still haven't figured out who will be the Master to represent us."

"It's fine, Anka. If you furrow your brows that much, your beauty will be marred. Relax," Pixis says. He takes a sip from his canteen of "water."

"Sir, even I am uncomfortable with how slow we've been," Gustav admits. "Have you even looked through the candidates?"

Pixis stares at his canteen with a dissatisfied frown. "This tastes different from usual."

"I replaced it with water, sir. You now have no excuse but to focus on this," Anka points out.

Both men turn to look at Anka. Pixis, with a sour look of annoyance. Gustav, with that of admiration.

"My suggestion," Anka continues without pause, "is Ian. He's reliable and level-headed."

"I respectfully disagree. Mitabi has more accomplishments. It makes more sense to trust him," Gustav says.

Pixis turns his attention back to his canteen, seemingly lost in thought. Then he smiles and stands up.

"There's just one thing to do. Gather everyone to the summoning room. It should be prepared by now, yes? I have an announcement to make."

*

Floch Forster is not strong.

He isn't so stupid that he doesn't realize that. That's why, when he realized that the 6th Great Titan War will happen in his lifetime, he rushed to join an organization. He is not strong enough to win the War by himself. But if he can put his name down in history as someone who was part of an organization that won... Wouldn't that be amazing?

It was too late to join the Marleyan forces (the expected entry is 5-7 year old kids). The Military Police only take in people with connections or money. The requirements to join the Survey Corps sounded scary. So that left the Garrison.

As a freshly new recruit, he figured he'll be doing grunt work. Run around here and there. Deliver coffee. Fill out forms. Probably never see the battle unless from afar or to offer support. Unless the Titan summoned is the Colossal, he'll probably be too far away to be able to see a Titan either.

Get credit for being part of the group that wins the War without doing any heavy lifting.

That was the goal.

That was the dream.

"M-me?"

How embarrassing. His voice broke just now. But he thinks he's in the right. Because huh? T-this can't be right. What is the Commander talking about?

"That's right. I believe you'll be the perfect person for this job," Commander Pixis says as he takes a sip from his canteen. He makes a small face and grimaces at his canteen.

Oh, that's dangerous. Floch almost called Pixis a liar to his face.

"S-sir, I believe you have me confused with someone else," Floch begins.

Pixis raises a brow, looking amused. "Is that so? So you're not 'Floch Forster?'"

"T-that is me, sir."

"Then you're the one I'm looking for," Pixis says, shrugging.

That's too nonchalant! No matter how Floch turns it in his head, no one in their right mind will take a new recruit to be the Master of a Titan! Too much rides on this position. Has Pixis never any plans to win? Did Floch join the wrong side? He glances around. The other Garrison members look as confused and lost as Floch feels. Except for the two by Pixis's side. The woman looks like she's nursing a headache, and the man looks like he wants to be anywhere but here. So at least Floch isn't alone in thinking this is ridiculous.

"M-may I ask why me?"

"Your reason for joining us was that you wanted to take part in the Titan War, yes?" Pixis asks. Without waiting for confirmation, he continues. "When Anka asked you what exactly you were going to do, your answer was humble and realistic. You said you will offer support by running for coffee, filing out papers, and general management duties. Because you are not strong."

Floch did say that, of course. But why wouldn't he be honest? He knows his abilities, and he doesn't want to be put on the frontlines if he knows he can't keep up there. Yes, he wants to be a part of the glory of being on the winning side. But not if it comes at the cost of his life. Isn't that the normal train of thought?

"The others who tried to join at the same time as you had much grander answers. They wanted to be warriors and be proud fighters. But not you. That left quite an impression on me. I have plenty of powerful warriors and fighters. What I want from a Master is the calm rationality enough to judge what they can or cannot do."

Wait, so this has been calmly thought through? It's not just the ramblings of a drunk old man? Floch can trust this?

"Of course, you are more than welcomed to reject this choice. But you'll make a fine choice for a Master."

That's the first Floch has ever heard those words aimed at him. Even for a third generation mage, his magic is on the lower side of mediocre. The reality of the situation was simple to him. He will never be the hero on the frontlines. He will never be the warrior most kids dream of becoming. He is just not that strong nor smart.

But what Pixis is looking for isn't a warrior or a tactician.

Someone who knows their own limits? That is Floch, to the teeth.

"If... if you will have me, I will be honored for this chance!"

*

The gold of the summoning circle soothes Floch more than he thought it would. It's proof. Definite proof that he is a mage. Even if his magic is minimal at best, the summoning circle has acknowledged him as a mage.

_"Let silver and steel be the essence  
Let stone and this contract be the foundation  
Let red be the color I pay tribute to  
I hereby declare  
Your body shall serve under me  
My fate shall be your sword  
An oath shall be sworn here  
If you will submit to this will and this reason...  
Then answer!"_

It's as generic as a summoning goes.

With his no-name lineage and low magic, there's not much variation he can put in to aim for a specific Titan. He can only hope that he wouldn't call forth one of the non-combatant Titans. He wants to win this War.

Someone combatant, he prays as smoke fills the air. Someone combatant. Someone-

The only way to describe it is an immense pressure of magic that drops upon him like a brick. If the roof was to fall right now, Floch imagines that it'll feel less painful than this. His lungs feel like they're being squeezed. His ears keep ringing, and his eyes feel like they might pop out of his head. No one told him about this. Are all summonings this painful?

Floch's knees are shaking. Is he going to fall down like this? He is mediocre. No one will fault him for that, right?

But...

He wants to fight.

He wants to show that he isn't a complete waste of time. He wants to be able to hold his head up and say that he did everything he could do. He doesn't want to just throw in the towel early and regret it for the rest of his life.

"Please help us win this War!" Floch yells out.

"If victory is what you seek," comes a surprisingly soft tone of voice.

The pressure has stopped, Floch notes. He can breath easy without worrying about losing his lungs. If he squints, he can begin to make out a vague silhouette of someone in the fog.

"You have called forth the wrong Titan. I am not a fighter."

Yeah, that makes sense. Floch's luck was really good as it was so far. To want it to be continue to be good is probably bad of him. But that's okay. He knows what he can do. And as soon as he can figure out what his Titan can do, then the two will work together to figure out how to win this War.

It's not over.

"Which Titan are you?" Floch asks.

The smoke disappears as a young man steps forward with the saddest blue eyes.

"Colossal."

It seems Lady Luck hasn't abandoned Floch just yet.


	7. Hange's Titan Observation 3

"... He's been summoned."

The Attack Titan is still, staring off into the distance with a firm frown on its face.

This is another thing that wasn't recorded in the history books. All the Titans have the ability to sense one another, given that they are not in their Spirit forms. That added to Mike's team reporting back which group has summoned next, they have been more or less been keeping track of who has which Titan.

"Who is?" Levi asks his Titan.

"The Colossal."

"I wonder which group..." Moblit mumbles, looking worried.

Hange slaps his back as encouragement. "If you furrow your brows like that, you'll scare away potential future brides!"

"I'm pretty sure my boss does that."

"Oh, that's right. You've taken down the Colossal before, right? What strategies did you use?" Hange asks the Attack Titan.

The Attack Titan's lips pull into a thin line. "That guy never has any intention of winning. He always lets himself be killed."

"Lets himself...?" Moblit echoes, confused. "But wouldn't his Master stop him from doing something like that?"

"That depends on whether that Master knows what he's up to."

Huh. So it's not just the Attack Titan with a mind of its own. Are all the Titans like that? Perhaps they lucked out with a Titan they knew what to expect from.

"I'm probably only remembered because I killed my Masters," the Attack Titan says. Then with a small grin aimed at Levi, it adds, "I plan on killing you too, you know."

Levi snorts. "I'm sure you are, brat."

"But why are you so set on killing your Master?" Moblit asks.

"How many wishes in total have been granted by the Founding Titan?" the Attack Titan asks.

"Just once. In the previous War, the Tybur Family won," Moblit answers.

The Attack Titan looks thoughtful at that. "I see. Just once, huh?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

That's all the Attack Titan will say on the topic, so they drop it for now.

*

"Guns?"

Erwin smiles proudly at the curious look on the Attack Titan. Hange wisely decides not to point out that Erwin looks like an overexcited kid, about to brag to his friends about a new toy he got.

"You've never seen these before, right? The older generation mages believe that mixing technology and magic should be taboo. But that seems like such a waste."

"What does it do?" the Attack Titan asks as he pokes at the rifle before him.

"Why don't we show you?"

Erwin motions for Mike to demonstrate. The smirks on their faces make them so obvious. Do they really think that something like this would impress their Titan enough to prevent him from betraying them? Well, it's not a lie that Hange is curious to see if this'll have any impact.

The Attack Titan sticks close to Mike, trying to have a better look at the handgun Mike pulled out. Erwin makes sure to pull him back.

"Might want to cover your ears," Mike tells the Titan.

Without further warning, he shoots three times at the make-shift targets prepared for this. And man, what a cool guy. He hits dead center for one of them. The other two still hit within the first ring. No wonder Erwin trusts him the most out of all of them. Hange doesn't think she can hit the target on a good day (that's a lie. She can hit pretty accurately when she wants to. How else would she have passed the test to join the Survey Corps?).

The Attack Titan's eyes go wide. It grabs the handgun from Mike's hand, pointing the nuzzle at himself to sniff it.

"Gunpowder," Erwin explains as he pushes the nuzzle away from the Titan's face. "That's dangerous. You shouldn't point that at yourself."

"It smells like burning bone," the Attack Titan points out.

Hange isn't shocked that their Titan would know what that smells like.

Erwin nods, looking proud. "That's right. It's created from our own ribs. Due to how hard it is to produce, we have a limited number of them. But it can pierce nearly all shields."

"It won't pierce the Armored Titan," the Attack Titan says.

"This wasn't made with the Titans in mind... But do you think if we were to make bullets with your ribs-"

Even before Erwin finishes that, the Attack Titan is shaking its head no.

"I'm made out of magic. Anything you pull out of me will disappear once I'm healed. I doubt it'll last long enough to be turned into... er... 'bullets,' was it? But this is fascinating."

Mike stops the Attack Titan before it tries to lick the nuzzle of the handgun. "Don't lick that."

"Do I get one?"

Green eyes stare expectantly at both Erwin and Mike. It's definitely a look a puppy would give its owner while begging for food. Hange fights the urge to laugh and loses badly.

"Eren," Levi calls, motioning for his Titan to come to his side. "A gun is for humans. Since you're a tool, be satisfied with just this."

It's quite a fancy looking dagger. Hange can't imagine it was cheap. But would giving a Titan a normal weapon really be useful? Well, Erwin isn't saying anything about it, even though his expression looks tight. For now, Hange will also remain silent.

*

Even if they dress it up as "strategy meeting," there's really not too much they can do until they know more about which group summoned which Titan. But if there's one thing Hange didn't expect is just how much knowledge the Attack Titan seems to have packed away despite being a bloodthirsty monster who is known to mindlessly kill. Their Titan is far craftier than they were told. It makes Hange wonder just who spread that information and for what purposes. Was it the deceased Master's families? Was it the witnesses from the previous Wars?

"The Cart Titan is probably the most dangerous. Unlike the rest of us that require a Master to sustain us, the Cart can survive up to two days without one. She was a real pain to fight last time."

"So we should go after the Cart first?" Levi asks.

There's a small pause as the Attack Titan seems to think about that. Then it shakes its head.

"No, the Cart will most likely be going after Warhammer first. She was the most distressed by the betrayal. In the middle of attacking me, she switched targets. It was too late by then, though."

"That allegiance that Tybur created... How many Titans and their Masters joined forces?" Erwin asks.

"The Armored, the Jaw, the Cart, the Warhammer... So it was the four of them. The Colossal was already down. Not sure what happened to Female and Beast. I assume they were killed after me."

"And I imagine no one would be willing to agree to an allegiance after what happened then," Erwin sighs.

Hearing that, the Attack Titan scoffs. "I won't agree to it. This is a battle where there can be only one victor. Trusting someone is stupid."

It's probably because of that view that it had to fight against four Titans in the previous War. But Hange can't dismiss the Attack Titan's beliefs with just that. This guy managed to hold its ground against four Titans. That's not something that can be easily ignored. No wonder the other Titans were willing to team up. Is it because of his blood lust? Due to his previous years of fighting in the War, it has gotten used to killing the other Titans? But then wouldn't the same be said for the other Titans? Just as much as they know about the others, those others know this much about them.

"Oh, but I should probably mention... The Armored Titan will probably come after me first. He... has a bit of a grudge against me."

"The Armored does?" Hange asks. "What? Did you steal its girlfriend or something?"

"Sort of. I... er... killed someone he loved dearly."

That's new.

"Titans can love?" Hange wonders if it's rude to allow that much surprise show on her face.

The Attack Titan's lips pull into a snarl. "It's a pretense of love. We're not humans. At best, we're playing at being human. Love? Don't make me laugh. At best, we're pretending to love."

That's the same as the Attack Titan saying it'll kill Levi when the time comes, doesn't it? No matter what they try, they will be betrayed by their Titan.

Hange wonders why she feels so sad about that.


	8. Pre-War: Armin and Eren

"I thought I'd find you here."

Green eyes regard Armin for just a second longer than usual before turning his attention back to his drink. Armin takes that as invitation to sit down at the table.

"This place changes every time," Armin says lightly. "Last time, it was a book store, wasn't it? And now it's this fancy-looking coffee shop. The prices are terrifying..."

"The drinks are pretty good. Not sure if they're worth as much as they cost, though."

Eren lifts his cup towards Armin. So Armin decides to takes a sip. He wonders why he feels so shocked to know how overly sweet that drink is. Eren has always had a sweet tooth. When they were younger, it was near impossible to find sweet things, but the world has changed since.

"Ugh. Isn't this too much?"

"I think it's good."

Armin decides not to argue over their tastes in drinks. "The world changed this much, but humankind still fights amongst themselves for a chance of this 'wish.'"

"You're not going to fight again?" Eren asks.

"It can't be helped. I just... don't see a point. I do feel bad for the Master I was summoned to. But I'm tired. The wish I might have once wanted to see come true is no longer relevant. But that's not the case for you, right, Eren?"

There is no answer as Eren drinks his insanely sweet drink. But that silence is answer enough for Armin.

Once more, his friend will drench himself in blood for the sake of this "wish." Once more, Armin will allow himself to be killed. Once more, they will play their roles in this tragedy called "War."

"I hope this time for sure, your wish will come true."

Eren snorts. "No, you don't. Because that means that we'll stop meeting like this."

The two laugh bitterly at their pathetic fate.


	9. Summoning: Marley

Ah, he fucked up.

He should have called for a more battle-focused Titan. But when he heard that the other groups have begun to move, he became overeager to get started. And now he will suffer for his rookie mistake.

"Way to make a girl feel welcomed," the Cart Titan says with a dramatic sigh.

"My issue is with myself and has no bearings on you."

Despite the serene smile on her face, her eyes seem sharp. They seem to accuse Theo Magath of not actually apologizing. He decides to ignore them.

"I know that the Cart Titan's main purpose is recon and delivery. Is there anything else I should be aware of?" Theo asks.

"Oh, I'm sure there are plenty that you should be aware of. But you seem to know the most important part."

She speaks in a flippant manner that makes it clear that she holds no respect for him. Damned Titan. This is why Theo wanted someone else to be the Master. But Calvi is a lazy ass as always. How hard can it be to find a mage to be a Master? There should be more than enough wide-eyed children who wants to play at being heroes. The Galliard brothers, for instance. Even if they are only seventh generation mages, Marcel has a good head on his shoulders. It seems a shame not to have tapped on them instead of an old geezer such as Theo.

"But I suppose it shouldn't hurt to say this. If you plan on teaming on with someone, don't pick the Warhammer. You're welcome to ignore me and do it anyways, of course. But don't be shocked if I kill you first, dearest Master."

The Warhammer Titan? Why would Theo ever form an allegiance with someone as sly as a Tybur? That's the same as throwing any chance of a victory out the window before the War can even begin. Does she think of him as such a fool?

How annoying.

But it does bring to question why she would request that specifically. It won't hurt to look into this.

*

The problem with the previous Wars is that most of the information recorded are spotty at best. Aside from the barest minimum that the Reiss Family put together that chronicles when a Titan was summoned and when the Master was killed, there's really not much for Theo to go off on.

"They should really keep better documentation..."

"They try every War and fail," the Cart Titan remarks lightly.

She picks up one of the files Theo's men put together at his request with an amused smile. "My, to think it would be this bad..."

"So why don't you inform me instead?" Theo asks. "What are some things I should know about the other Titans? What strategies have been tried before?"

The Cart Titan doesn't disagree with him. Instead, she nods and puts the files down.

"What do you know about the Attack Titan?"

The Attack Titan? Is she just going to go down the list of all the Titans and give a brief synopsis on each? At least that's organized. And it'll make sure that they cover everyone.

"It's a Berserker Titan. If its Master doesn't give it enough fights to satisfy it, it'll kill its Master."

There's a flicker of emotion on the Cart Titan's face that Theo isn't sure how to describe. But it's gone within seconds, making him wonder if he imagined that.

"Out of all the Titans, he is the most likely to be a thorn in anyone's sides. That's the logic the Warhammer Titan's Master used in the previous War. He suggested an alliance to the rest of the Titans to bring down the Attack. In the midst of that fight, the Warhammer sniped our Masters. When the dust settled, the Warhammer Titan's Master was declared the winner."

No wonder the Cart Titan insisted on not trusting the Tybur Family.

The winner of the War is determined by the last Master standing. A Titan cannot sustain themselves without a Master's magic, so the quickest way of knocking out competition is by killing the Master. Of course, someone naive might point out that one can save human life by killing the Titan instead. But how would any normal mage kill a being composed entirely of magic? No, no. It makes much more sense to use deception like the Tybur Family did. 

Heh. No wonder they're so rich and powerful now. They're standing on the corpses of the Masters they killed.

"Then one option would be to propose a truce until the Warhammer is killed," Theo muses.

"No one will bite. Not after what happened last time."

Fair enough.

"But this gives us a target to start with. Most likely, the other Titans will get rid of the Warhammer first. After that will be the Attack Titan."

The Cart Titan nods. "Given the previous War's information, yes. But you underestimate old grudges."

Theo doesn't like the way that's phrased. Despite being on the same side, his Titan seems quite unwilling to help.

"Then give me information on Wars before that one to help make a better plan."

"As you wish."


	10. Hange's Titan Observation 4

"Candy, chocolates, and cookies! Maybe we should grab some baked goods as well? I bet he'd love some fresh cream cake!" Hange muses aloud as she eyes the bakery on the street.

"Squad Leader, please consider me, your luggage-mule, before you buy anything more," Moblit groans.

"If your pet has been good, you're supposed to reward them. Don't you think Eren has been very agreeable?"

Moblit gives her a tight smile. "That may be so, but I think this is enough. Let's head back."

*

Hange has to hand it to Levi. He has absolutely no regard for what exactly a Titan is supposed to do.

Their Attack Titan is scrubbing the floor with a rag, wearing what the Survey Corps members have come to accept as the Levi Squad's cleaning uniform. His face is pale as he keeps his eyes glued to the ground. Hange can already guess that Levi must have disciplined his Titan quite terribly for things to have ended like this.

"Instead of doing something boring like cleaning, come with me for experiments!" Hange invites, holding her hand out for the Attack Titan to take.

Green eyes look hopefully at Hange. Then realization flashes before the Attack Titan points shakily towards...

Hange's shoes...?

Oh. Huh. Would you look at that? That's quite a lot of mud on the squeaky clean floor.

"Hm? Weren't you cleaning? Why is it so dirty?" Hange asks as innocently as she can.

It takes everything she has to not burst out laughing at the look of despair in Eren's eyes. Murderous monster or not, pretending to be human or not, Hange is starting to think that their Attack Titan is probably the cutest Titan of them all.

"Hey, Shitty Glasses, who gave you the right to track mud on my clean floor?"

"And that's my cue to leave! I'll talk to you later, Eren!"

Before Hange can take another step, though, Levi trips her. Moblit doesn't even pretend to show sympathy and waves pleasantly as Levi begins his lecture.

*

"So if you were to run into one of the Titans right now, you won't even attempt to fight?" Hange asks.

They're eating the snacks she and Moblit bought together with the Levi Squad (They invited themselves when they saw Eren resting. At the very least, they brought tea and aren't just mooching).

"I can't fight. My magic will lock up, and I'll be forced into my Spirit form until the War starts."

That sounds he experienced it personally.

"What about everyone else? Can you fight them?" Moblit asks.

Moblit really should have thought more before asking something so careless. Hange feels the cold sweat down her spine at the sheer amount of magic surrounding them. It feels like the magic is eating the air itself, making it harder and harder to breath.

"A fight?" the Attack Titan asks, lips pulling into a grin. "Don't you mean one-sided massacre?"

Four gunshots ring out in the small room. If left be, Hange calculates the projections to have hit near Eren's head, but not quite hit the target. But Levi knocks the the bullets out of the air, giving his Squad a firm look of disapproval.

"Don't waste your bullets over every minor things. You'll run out before the War begins." Then Levi turns to his Titan and grabs his head as if to ruffle his hair. "You, stop teasing them."

"I wasn't! I was going to kill them!" the Attack Titan growls. He tries to bat away Levi's hand but doesn't seem to be able to. It looks like Levi's putting in quite the pressure, if the way their Titan is wincing is any indication.

"Yeah, yeah. Just like you're going to kill me, right?"

The Attack Titan pouts and gives up trying to stop Levi. "You know there is a benefit to me killing people."

"What do you mean?"

Levi's voice drips with venom. Depending on what Eren says, Hange predicts some harsh discipline in his future.

"You know how mages can convert their life force into magic to use? We Titans have something similar. The more people we kill, mages or not, contribute to our own powers and magic. It's not uncommon for some Titans to kill bunch of non-mage civilians for a quick boost. As long as you don't get caught, no one will complain."

... What...? T-then... Doesn't that give a completely different view to why the Attack Titan is bloodthirsty? It's for the purpose of bolstering his own magic in a fight? That kind of thing is-

"Pfft! The looks on your faces! Haha! That was a lie!" The Attack Titan tells them, laughing brightly. "I just think it's funny when people die."

There's something off about the way the Attack Titan says that. Something just slightly wrong about the way he laughs.

Hange doesn't think that was a lie at all.

"Brat, jokes about people's lives are forbidden, got it?" Levi growls. "If you don't learn your lesson, you're not getting any dessert."

... Hey, that's not how Levi's been disciplining their Titan, right?

"I-I won't do it again! Please don't!"

Hange isn't sure if she should laugh or rub her temples.


	11. Summoning: Military Police

All you need in this world is money and power. Both are easily grasped when you are a twenty-first generation mage.

Sure, she may not be the smartest, but her family has history and connections most mages can only dream of. She doesn't care if this gets get called favoritism. Hitch Dreyse is, without a doubt, the perfect mage to be a Master. Anyone who disagrees (she means you, Marlowe) can suck her dick.

The gold of the summoning circle expands, surrounding the entire room with bright light. Looks like her Titan is responding to her call. Good. She's in her top shape today. There's nothing that's going to stop her from being a Master. Not even that look on Marlowe's face.

She isn't just a spoiled brat. She has skills and power to back her up. Shut up, Marlowe, and just watch her.

A roar of explosion of magic surrounds her. The minute that magic touches Hitch's, it freezes. Shards of ice crystals rains on them. Due to the infusion of magic, the shards begin to freeze everything they touch, spreading the ice all over the room within seconds.

While everyone is distracted, the Titan takes form.

"Are you my Master?" comes the soft and delicate voice.

Just as Hitch wanted.

The most beautiful Titan, all for her.

Hitch laughs. If it's this easy to get the Titan she wanted, then this War is going to be a piece of cake.

Keep watching, Marlowe, with that sour look on your face. Hitch is the perfect choice to be a Master. She'll make it clear with this.

"That's right, Female Titan. I'll be relying on you."

There's a beat of silence, quite possibly her Titan checking her out. What? Is she impressed by how beautiful Hitch is? She better be. Hitch spent forever on her hair and skin this morning, all for this moment.

"You're shaking."

It's a cold observation. There's no sign of concern. Not that Hitch needs it, of course. She's a full fledged mage. She doesn't need a tool's pity.

"Did you forget the part where you threw ice shards at me?" Hitch says lightly.

"A mage that doesn't even know how to keep herself warm with magic... You're not going to last in this War."

Hitch frowns at her Titan. Looks like some discipline is in order.

How dare a mere tool echo Marlowe's words?

*

The hot water in the tub isn't enough. Her body won't stop shaking. It was easy enough to blame the ice shards when she was in the summoning room. But now that she's out of it, that excuse no longer works.

Hitch Dreyse may be a twenty-first generation mage. But there is a flaw in her body. The magical circuits that should be outpouring with magic are misaligned. No matter how strong her magic is, no matter what her generation is, it all becomes moot under the simple fact that she cannot use her magic.

But fighting in a War does not require her own circuitry to work. As long as she has enough magic to sustain her Titan, she can still participate as a Master. The only side effect is this.

Her body threatening to shut down any time even a little bit of her magic is used.

"I thought so. You're not used to using magic are you?" her Titan asks as she comes to lean by Hitch's tub.

"Shut up. I'm a great mage."

She is a great mage. It doesn't matter what Marlowe says. It doesn't matter what her Titan thinks. She will prove it by winning this War. Her daddy pulled a lot of strings and donated a lot of money to get her this position. All because she selfishly wanted to prove to everyone that she isn't useless.

She isn't broken.

"I'll stay in my Spirit Form. That should lessen your burden," her Titan says.

Hitch shakes her head no. "Don't be stupid. If you do that, everyone will know that there's something wrong. I have the magic to sustain you."

"Yes. But your body-"

"I have the magic to sustain you," Hitch repeats.

Her Titan stares at her in silence for a beat before she nods.

"As you wish."


	12. Pre-War: Zeke and Eren

To say that this is Zeke's favorite coffee shop is probably pushing it. At best, it's a coffee shop that he frequents a lot due to its close proximity to Zeke's high school and his father's... "dance group location," shall we say?

If he says something like "I was getting coffee," no one ever accuses him of slacking off. It's probably an adult thing. They equate getting coffee with diligent worker or whatever. Zeke doesn't really get it. But it helps him out, so he's not going to complain.

Today seems like a bitter drink kind of day. Maybe he should get something sweet to eat with it? Wait, does he have enough money for that? He has been getting a lot of drinks recently. But with the War coming up, it should be excusable, right?

There's someone staring intensely at the baked goods with furrowed brows. Is this person struggling to determine what they want to eat? From a quick glance around, it doesn't look like this person is holding up the line. Then they probably haven't ordered yet.

"Would you like some help deciding?" Zeke asks as he approaches them.

Okay, okay. He knows how that comes across. What's he doing acting like he's an employee or something, recommending what to eat? But it's not like any of the workers look interested in helping. And there's no harm in being friendly. If it turns out that Zeke is intruding, he can always back off.

The brightest green eyes turns to look at him. And wow. This is probably what people mean when they say radiantly beautiful. Sure, Zeke's seen plenty of people on screen that's this beautiful, but this person isn't CG'ed. You can't CG real life... right?

"I would appreciate that," the beautiful person says with a kind smile.

"I-I'm Zeke. Er... W-what kind of food are you in the mood for? Something sweet? Sour? More hearty?"

"Kruger," the person says, motioning to himself. "Something sweet sounds great."

It's taking everything Zeke has to remember how to breath. He feels dizzy just standing in this person's radius. And it occurs to him belatedly that that's not just the effect of that charming smile. Kruger is most likely a powerful mage. This feeling of euphoria Zeke feels in his presence is due to the sheer amount of magic radiating off of him.

How terrifying. If someone like Kruger were to be a Master in the War, he would definitely win.

"The cake pops are pretty good. I tend to really enjoy the cinnamon bunt cake, too. B-but I think the strawberry tarts are nice, even if they're a bit sour."

"Cake pop?"

Oh, has Kruger never had a cake pop before?

"I like them because they're small and easy to eat," Zeke explains, feeling a bit more confident. "Here, shall we grab a few?"

*

The coffee shop very rarely makes more than twelve cake pops at a given time (probably to justify why they're so expensive, given their size). So the two of them only manage to snag three to eat.

"Yum! This is good!"

Really? Zeke thinks it's more gooey than it should be. But if Kruger likes it, then he shouldn't say anything.

"Would you like this, too?" Zeke asks, offering his.

"Are you sure? You don't want any?"

Zeke laughs. "I'm having more fun watching you eat."

At the very least, that's not a lie. The bright way Kruger's eyes light up is enchanting. How can someone with that much power be so satisfied with something as simple as sweets? What's that like? To feel so happy with what's before you?

"You look like you have too complicated a thought on your mind," Kruger remarks.

When Zeke gives him a guilty look, Kruger laughs.

"It's fine. Don't look so guilty. I meant it to ask if you're okay with sharing what you're thinking."

How odd. Zeke wants to say it. The truth. About his father. About his father's "dance group." About the plans in the upcoming War... But it seems that his training was much more thorough than his father (or anyone else) ever gave him credit for, because he finds his lips sealed.

"I'm afraid it's not my story to tell."

"Fair enough. I probably shouldn't have pried. Sorry." Then Kruger's eyes trail outside before letting out a small sigh. "Guess it's time for me to go."

Zeke glances outside and spots... Huh? Isn't that...?

He's too caught off-guard to say anything more than a goodbye to Kruger. Then he watches as Kruger leaves the coffee shop to join Levi Ackerman. Zeke can't hear what kind of a conversation passes between the two of them. But he sees the gentle smile on Levi's face and the light laugh that leaves Kruger's mouth. The two seem close as they walk away, lightly conversing.

According to Grisha's intel, the Survey Corps recently recruited an Ackerman for their cause. Levi must be the Master for them who will fight in this War. But the amount of magic that Kruger has is nothing to laugh at either.

To have two powerful mages under their call... the Survey Corps is definitely a group they need to watch out for.

*

"Levi Ackerman, huh?" Grisha asks grimly when Zeke reports. "That does complicate things, but nothing has changed. You are my son, Zeke. Out of everyone, you are the most qualified to lead us to victory."

Zeke wonders why he doesn't feel any confidence in those words.


	13. Summoning: Restorationists

"Why are we the ones hiding? If anything, we should be the ones making the rules! We should be the ones in power!"

The crowd cheers his father on, rallying behind his words of conviction as they've always done. It is finally here. The very thing they've been biding their time for.

"My son Zeke has been training since he was little for this War! Victory is all but guaranteed. We will finally be able to shape the world as we see fit."

Zeke Jaeger understands that this is just formalities. But he still feels nervous when he stands before the crowd and their admiration. You'd think he'd have gotten used to this by now. After all, he was born and raised for this very purpose.

For this very day.

"I will bring home the victory and grant everyone's wish!" Zeke declares as he has been taught to.

The roar of the crowd's approval still echoes in his ears when his Titan stands before him.

"You must be disappointed, my Master. You summoned the most useless Titan there is," comes a soft voice that doesn't fit the image of a monster that size.

Disappointed, huh? Why did Zeke immediately think of his father's face as he sighed in disgust at Zeke's inability to keep up to their standards? But Zeke is no longer that faltering child who struggles with the basics. No, he's gone through hell and back to be where he is now.

Disappointed?

Hah.

"Don't look down on me," Zeke tells his Titan. "There's no such thing as a 'useless' tool. I have not wasted my whole life to get here, only to give up at the starting line.I just need to think of a way to use you correctly."

The image of the monster disappears into that of a kindly man with glasses. He smiles, looking surprisingly gentle. Zeke doesn't know how to properly process this. Can all Titans take on a human form? Then...?

"It seems my Master this time will be someone worth serving."

My, what a flatterer.

*

"The Beast Titan?" comes the baffled shouts of the Restorationists.

Not that Zeke can blame them. They wanted Zeke to summon forth the Armored Titan to win them the victory. That's why his father timed Zeke's birth when he did. Enough so that he will still be considered a child by all intent and purposes, but old enough to properly fight in this War. But to come out having summoned a non-combatant Titan like the Beast? Furthermore, a Titan that most people agree is the most useless of the bunch?

There it is.

Grisha's look of disappointment. He probably wishes that he had another child to take on this position. Anyone that isn't Zeke, right?

"If my Master is willing to listen, there is a way that even someone like me can win this War," the Beast Titan admits, just loud enough to silence the shouts.

"And what's that?" Grisha asks. 

His voice is cold. It's the tone of voice Grisha reserves for when Zeke has really disappointed him. And now that extends to his Titan, huh?

The Beast Titan pushes his glasses up and smiles, giving himself quite an eerie image.

"Play dirty."


	14. Pre-War: Falco and Eren

"A Titan! A Titan!" Udo sings in excitement. "Ahhh, I wish we were older so we can fight with her!"

The good mood is contagious. Falco Grice finds himself grinning along.

"If we're really good, we'll be able to help out, right?"

Zofia laughs. "No way! They'll never let us near the battlefield!"

That's true. The adults are too picky about things like that. And from what Marcel said, it seemed like their magic lessons will be put on hold until the War is over. When they asked him what will happen if the War stretches for over a year, Porco laughed and said, "You really think we'll let it drag on that long? It'll be over within a week. Top. Be good and wait for us at home."

On one hand, it's so cool that it makes Falco's heart flutter in excitement. But on the other hand, it means that they'll have less than a week to sneak a look at the Titan.

"And here's my stop. See you when this is all over!" Zofia says, waving goodbye.

"I wish we can see a Titan," Udo sighs. He gives Falco a cheerful goodbye, too.

A Titan, huh?

It still doesn't feel real at times. The Great Titan War that they've read about in history books will be unfolding in their lifetime. Moreover, they're part of Marleyan forces that have been preparing themselves for this War for ages. Of course, they probably won't be anywhere near the War due to their ages and what have you, but it's not like they're moving out of the country. They'll be able to see the Titans if they look outside the window, right?

"I wonder if Gabi's okay..."

Falco was tasked with getting Gabi her notes for the day, especially since they won't be meeting for lessons anymore. Apparently she caught a cold and couldn't show up. It must be a really bad cold if it could keep Gabi from coming. She's a monster who is often praised by her amazing abilities despite being just a fourth generation mage. Perhaps because of the pressure of being praised so much, she always pushes herself a lot. It's probably a good thing that she's resting. But Colt worries.

"... catch my drift?"

There are three things that you must be aware of if you're a mage. 1, You do not involve non-mage civilians in anything magical. 2, You do not pick fights with people who are not part of your group unless it's the War. 3, You respect territories of different groups.

There are two Military Police members, glaring down at a young man (Man? Woman? Falco actually isn't sure. Just because someone has pretty long hair doesn't mean they're a woman, right?) sitting on a bench. Any normal time, Falco would've kept his attention away. There's no need for him to get involved. This is a Military Police business.

But they're in a public park with non-magical civilians everywhere. Not to mention this is far outside of the Military Police territory. Falco can't just walk away. Not when the person sitting on the bench seems to be radiating a dangerous amount of magic. He may just be a Warrior Candidate, but he still has his pride as a mage.

"H-hey!" Falco yells out. "T-this is Marleyan territory. Please take your attitude elsewhere."

The Military Police members look at him in disgust that makes Falco almost want to back off. But he steels himself. Because don't you know? This is Gabi's neighborhood. Maybe she might one day hear rumors about Falco being brave. Yeah, it's not likely at all. But hey, it gives him enough courage to stand before fully grown mages.

"Marleyan brat, huh?"

"Tch. We'll let you go for now," one of the Military Police member tells the guy on the bench. "But next time you won't be so lucky."

Then they're gone, leaving Falco alone with the person on the bench.

"Thanks. I thought they were going to beat me," comes the rather nonchalant greeting. The voice is low enough that makes Falco think man. So he's going to go with that for now.

"N-not a problem. I just... uh... your magic. This is a place with non-mage civilians. So you need to be careful about showing your magic like that," Falco explains. "N-not that I'm trying to lecture you or anything. Er... I-I mean-"

"It's fine. I get what you mean. I will be more careful. Thank you again."

Falco nods. He should take his leave. He knows that. But there's something else that's bothering him.

"I-it's possible that it's not my place to ask. But er... w-why were the Military Police members after you?"

The man on the bench glances at Falco and tilts his head. "I wonder..."

That's not vague at all. Falco figures it really is none of his business. He should be delivering the notes to Gabi anyways. He should get going. He really should.

"Well, er... I-I'll be leav-"

"Kid, what's your name?"

"Falco. W-what's yours?"

"Kruger."

That's everything, right? With a small wave of his hand, Falco gives his goodbye.

*

Gabi doesn't come to the door, so Falco leaves the notes with Gabi's parents. They look really worried. Even when Falco tries to make small talk, they keep nervously looking around. Gabi must really be sick, huh?

"Please tell her to get better quick. It'll be cool if we can watch the Titan battles together."

"Y-you're a good kid, Falco... We'll pass that along."

Gabi's parents sound strained. Falco assumes it's just worry.

*

"You're still here?" Falco can't help but to ask when he sees Kruger on the bench.

"Oh, hey." Kruger says, greeting Falco with a small wave. "I'm just waiting for someone to pick me up."

That seems rather sad. Is he lost?

"Yeah."

Falco opens his mouth and then closes it wordlessly because he doesn't know what to say. What's a fully grown adult doing lost in a public park? How did Kruger get lost anyways? Is that how he got in trouble with the Military Police? Should Falco offer some help?

"I'm sure if I start moving around, I'll get an earful from the one picking me up."

That's a good point.

Falco nods slowly. "Shall I keep you company until then...?"

*

It's not that Falco wanted to talk about Gabi or anything. But the only thing that all mages have been talking about recently is the War. So of course, Gabi gets brought up in conjunction to that.

"I'm sure that if we were older, she would definitely have been chosen to be Marley's Master," Falco explains. "It's a little vexing. I wanted that honor. But because of our ages, we'll be kept away from the battlefield. We probably won't even be allowed to see a Titan!"

The expression on Kruger's face is kind. But there's a bit of sadness tucked in there. Falco isn't too sure why.

"Being kept away from a battlefield isn't a bad thing. No matter the age."

"Are you here to take part in the War?" Falco asks.

"Something like that."

"Oh, then that's perfect! Once the War is over, please show me what the Titans look like! Everyone keeps throwing numbers around like 15 meters, but it's hard to imagine it."

For just a second, Kruger's expression is frozen. Then slowly, he manages out, "Over?"

"Yes. When the War is over. Let's meet again."

Should Falco not have said that? Why does Kruger look so shaken?

"That's not something I can promise you," Kruger says softly. "It's called a War, you know. I might not make it alive."

But Falco saw the magic swirling around Kruger when the Military Police members cornered him. He's not so stupid as to not recognize great amounts of magic when it's in front of him. Kruger is doubtlessly a great mage, here to participate in the War. If Falco decides to cheer for him, it'll be seen as a betrayal against the Marley. But even knowing that, he says it.

"I believe in you. Let's meet again."

Falco regrets saying that.

The look on Kruger's face is too pained.

"O-or m-maybe not...?"

"Sorry," Kruger tells him softly. "That's not something I can promise."

An awkward silence settles between them. Falco figures that this is it. He messed up. And now Kruger won't talk to him at all. And-

"So this Gabi girl. Do you normally deliver notes to her?"

Grateful for a distraction, Falco latches on to this conversation changer.


	15. Summoning: Braun Family

"K-Karina... I... don't think this is right. It's just... Gabi's just a kid!"

Gabi Braun has a duty. It's something that her Aunt Karina has told her that she was born to do.

Originally, Karina's son was supposed to take on this mantel. But ten years ago, he was met with an unfortunate accident and is no longer with them. So as the only fourth generation mage of the Braun Family (and therefore has the best circuitry for magic), she has been given the glorious honor of upholding this duty.

"You had no issues when it was my son. Are you saying our family's pride isn't important enough to fight for?"

Aunt Karina is right.

Gabi turns to her worried looking parents and grins confidentially.

"There's no need to worry. I'm the most talented mage in my class. I will bring home victory!"

The looks on her parents' faces are anything but pride. Can they not trust her? Aunt Karina trusts her. So why can't they? She really can do it. She knows how important this victory will be for her family. So she's been trying really, really hard.

Why can't they understand how much this means to her?

"Besides, it's because Gabi is a kid that this will work."

They turn towards Aunt Karina, who is looking at the summoning circle they've carefully created in an open field. There's a makeshift camouflage spell on them that should prevent any non-magical civilian from accidentally discovering them. But anyone with magic will be able to see the Titan that they summon.

"The Armored Titan has never answered anyone over the age of 20. He's a true 'Guardian of Children.' So there is nothing to worry about. Gabi is going to be safe."

If Aunt Karina says so, then it must be true!

Besides, with how strong Gabi is, there's no way that they won't be able to blow this War business away with ease. And once this is all over, she's going to brag to Falco and the others about how cool she is.

Then everyone will agree that she is the strongest of them all!

*

For a second, Gabi believes that the night sky disappeared.

Then she feels the pulsation of magic that's running through this dome-like shield that has appeared around her, blocking her sight of the night sky. This must be the "test" that the Titans give their Master to determine worth.

But what is this supposed to test, exactly?

Gabi feels a bit confused.

"Are you... my Master?"

The voice is low and reminds Gabi of gravel. It's an alarming sound that puts her on edge. Is the voice somehow modified with magic? Or is this just how all Titans are?

"I am," Gabi tells the Titan, wherever it may be in this dark space. "And you are the Armored Titan, correct?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Why would it say "unfortunately?" Well, that doesn't matter. What matters is that Gabi has accomplished what she set out to do. She has summoned the Armored Titan, quite possibly the strongest titan there is aside from the Colossal. But the Colossal's large size gets in the way, whereas the Armored is more flexible in terms of usage.

Yes. With the Armored by her side, she will win this War.

"This is perfect! My family will finally be able to get revenge!" Gabi cheers.

The dome slowly disappears, returning the night sky above. She turns to her waiting parents and Aunt Karina and grins.

"We'll win this War!"

She ignores what sounds like a heavy sigh from her Titan.


	16. Pre-War: Reiner and Eren

"So this place is a coffee shop now?"

There's an annoying man who sits down unprompted at Eren's table. He dares to give Eren a grin that doesn't reach his eyes. 

"Long time no see."

"Reiner. Your Master forget your leash?"

Reiner chuckles, but the fire in his eyes doesn't ebb. "I could say the same about your Master. I'm shocked that someone like you isn't being watched more carefully."

"I'm trustworthy," Eren snaps. "You're the traitor."

"And you're a murderer."

Never misses a beat, does he? Eren scowls into his drink.

"Actually, it's probably more correct to say that you're a mass murderer. How many people have you killed? All for what, exactly?"

Eren snorts. "Get off of your high horse. You're no better. At the very least, I'm upfront about the blood on my hands. Are you still pretending to be a 'guardian' of children? Careful there. The people of this age doesn't look too kindly to old murderers like us near kids."

"This time, things will be different."

"Just like it was last time?"

Reiner, to his credit, doesn't back down. Instead, he allows himself a shaky grin that fools no one.

"Just like last time," he agrees.

Eren sips his drink. "Don't be stupid. Last time was a fluke. It won't happen again."

"No, it will happen again," Reiner insists. "I will put you to rest. Once and for all."

This is probably a bad time to bring up that Eren was taken out by the combined efforts of the Jaw and the Warhammer, right? The Armored Titan had nothing to do with his death last time.

Oh well. Eren is in a good mood (or at least he was until this idiot showed up).

He can afford Reiner his delusions.

He'll be shattering them soon enough anyways.


	17. Summoning: Reiss Family

The Reiss Family serves as an impartial third-party that exists only to protect the non-mage civilians. Originally, they were part of a well-established family Fritz. But for the sake of these Wars, they were branched off and "sacrificed."

The only mage family forbidden from participating in the War is the Reiss.

"It's discrimination! What right do they have to keep us away from getting our wishes granted? But going against the laws set by other mages can only end in trouble. That's why..."

Rod Reiss smiles at his bastard daughter.

"You will participate and fight for your family's sake. You understand, right, Krista?"

*

"Krista Lenz" is the name she was given when she turned seven and her mother was murdered in front of her eyes. Well, to call that woman "mother" is probably too kind. But that's neither here nor there.

"You will be the salvation of the Reiss family."

Those words were so often spoken to her that she feels like they've been etched into her heart. Salvation of the Reiss family... It makes her sound like a hero of a fantasy book.

And wouldn't that be amazing?

She will be able to take back her real name and be with her family for the first time since she was born. On top of that, she will be their hero. The one who made it possible for them to be able to participate in the Great Titan War and have their wishes granted.

She won't just be a bastard child who needs to be hidden as the shame of the family anymore.

It's for this dream that she gritted her teeth and came this far. It's for that goal.

"So shut up and just obey me!"

There's a screech that makes Krista's ears ring. It takes her a second to realize that that sound was actually her Titan laughing. She really shouldn't have waited to summon. Now she's stuck with this crazy sounding Titan.

A giant hand suddenly reaches out, its sharp claws aiming right for Krista. There's no time to dodge. She'll just put up a shield-

The hand collides with the shield and bursts into bright gold, blinding her. When she finally gets her sight back, it's no longer the ugly Titan that's standing before her.

A cocky girl grins widely at Krista and points to herself.

"The Jaw Titan has arrived, my dearest Master. I'll treat you well~ ❤"

Screw crazy-sounding. This Titan is crazy.

Krista finds herself grinning despite that.

Crazy is fitting for a bastard like her.

"Let's burn this mage society to the ground."

Her Titan laughs. "As you wish!"


	18. Hange's Titan Observation 5

"Okay. Nothing abnormal here. Your health is as normal as an insanely healthy person's should be," Hange reports to both Erwin and Levi in the room.

Erwin lets out a small sigh. Hange's pretty sure it's out of frustration that he won't be able to use Levi's health as a way to knock him off of the Master position. And here, she thought that Erwin gave that up. Does he even have someone lined up? Whenever Erwin brings up the topic of a different Masters, everyone backs away slowly. That is probably the downside of summoning a Titan that is known for betraying its Master.

"Now, what about your head? You feel anything off? Any headaches? Nausea? Vision issues?" Hange asks Levi.

All she can do is check his health physically. But she's curious to know if there's any mental or magical strain in summoning a Titan. Ahh, why must this be a special occasion time thing? She wishes they can all summon a Titan whenever they want. How nice would that be? Her own personal Titan... If she knew that she could be accepted to any other group, she would have left in a heartbeat for a place that wished for access to Titans. But no one would accept her. She knows her own abilities and habits too well to think anyone but Erwin would take a chance on her.

"Nothing unusu... Oh, that's right. I've been having these dreams."

Dreams?

Levi looks uncomfortable as he talks about it. "It's nothing too wild. But I keep seeing this oriental girl wearing a red scarf. She and a blonde boy. I typically don't have any dreams, so it's just... weird."

"Do they do anything? Say anything?" Hange asks.

"If they said anything, I don't remember it. The dreams are typically short. Sort of like... Like I'm remembering something very hazy."

"Do you know them?"

Levi shakes his head. "No. That's the thing. I don't recall meeting anyone like either of them. And... the way they're dressed seems old, too."

For just a second, Hange has a theory that she wants to dismiss as impossible. But to toss aside a theory like that before she has any chance to collect data will be irresponsible as a scientist.

"Have you asked Eren about these?"

*

"You saw...?"

Hange doesn't know how to describe the expression on their Attack Titan's face. She wants to say hurt or sadness. But it's nothing that simple. If it was, she would have described it, see? She wonders if she should've taken a picture, because she's not sure if even someone as masterful as Moblit would be able to capture this moment with his sketches.

"How unpleasant," he Attack Titan says, looking away. "It's been a while since a Master saw my past. Your magic really is something else."

H-huh?

"W-wait, what's that about your past?" Hange asks.

The Attack Titan shrugs. "It's not something that happens every time. So I forgot that it can happen. Sometimes, our Master can see what happened in our past. It's nothing big."

There's more to this than what's being said. This is clearly a topic that he doesn't want to talk more about. Hange wants to push, but she gets the feeling she won't be getting anything more. Instead, it'll be better to have Levi start a dream journal to get as much detail as they can about the Attack Titan's... No. About Eren's past.

The past of a Titan, huh...? 

How exciting.

Since it's clear that nothing else might come of this, Hange decides to lighten the atmosphere by talking about nothing. 

"Oh, that's right. Did we never tell you? Levi here is an Ackerman. Of course, his magic is on a different level! Haha! Erwin really went out of his way to find you a good Master, you know. So do try to keep him alive for a while longer before you betray us!"

"An... A-Acker...?"

Hange blinks. "Have you never heard about them? No way! They're a mage family that's been around since before the War! Surely, they're famous?"

But the Attack Titan isn't paying attention to Hange anymore. His eyes are set on Levi, watching him like he is a monster. And yes, Levi is a monster, especially in terms of magical power. But for their Titan to look this frightened...?

Something must have happened. That much is obvious.

Hange is looking forward to unraveling this mystery.


	19. Logistics: Founding Titan

The one who presides as the judge of the War is the Founding Titan herself.

When a mage calls upon a Titan, it is up to the Titans to reject the summoning or accept it. If accepted, the Master will receive a gift from the Founding Titan called the "Command Spell" at the start of the War. In a sense, this can be seen as the gunshot that starts the War. The Command Spell will allow the Master one miracle during the duration of the War.

This miracle can be many things, but there are limitations. For one, the Command Spell cannot bring back the dead. For another, it cannot strike down another Master nor their Titan. If an order is too vague, the Command Spell's effect will be weakened, if it happens at all.

What it can do, however, is to give your Titan a boost in ability for a short duration. Make a Titan obey a single order without question. Change the weather. Bend the rules of reality for a short duration. Give the Master a boost... It can even gift the position of "Master" to someone else. That new Master, of course, will not have a Command Spell.

Absolutely anything goes during the duration of the War. The only limitation is what the rules of mage's society has put into place. Aside from not being discovered by the non-mage civilians, there's little to nothing holding them back. Sure, the Reiss Family has requested that the damages be kept a minimum. But that's not a hard rule. In fact, it's often ignored for the sake of victory.

It should be noted that most amount of victories in a small scrimmage or a fight does not guarantee overall victory of the War. Even if all one does is stay hidden throughout the course of the War, they can end up the victor if they are the last Master standing. Of course, this strategy has the downside of prolonging the War if all participants decide to hide. The Third Great Titan War took the longest time of ten years to complete due to this.

The one who remains standing at the end of it all will have their wish granted by the Founding Titan.


	20. Levi's Dream Diary 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Levi is on his back on a grassy hill, his head resting on someone's lap. It's the perfect day to laze about. There's even a breeze that plays with the red haze of a scarf.

Is that a lullaby that's being hummed? It sounds heartachingly familiar. Levi feels like he heard of it before. Perhaps it was in another dream?

A blond boy runs towards them, waving excitedly. Levi sits up to greet him.

He's sure that they're all talking, but he cannot hear any words. Despite that, he finds himself feeling content.

*

There doesn't appear to be any words on the scroll hanging up in the plaza for the world to see. But there's a fancy looking logo on it that makes Levi think of someone rich.

He feels someone tap his shoulder. When he turns to look, the blonde boy grins widely at him. It looks like the blonde boy is saying something in an excited manner. Levi cannot hear his words, but he feels nothing but fondness for the boy.

What are they talking about? Is it about the scroll?

When Levi asks Eren in the morning, Eren shrugs and says that he doesn't recall.

*

He doesn't feel the heat of the fire. He doesn't feel any physical pain nor smell the iron he has come to associate with this bright red gushing out of him.

There's someone laughing. Is this person laughing at his pathetic state of being? Or is the person laughing at something else?

Levi isn't sure. But he does know that this deep loathing in his chest is aimed at that laughing person. If the world were to ever forget that this person ever existed, Levi is certain that the world will be a better place.

*

There's a book before Levi with blank pages. The blonde boy is by his side, excitedly pointing at them. Again, Levi cannot hear any words spoken. Perhaps words in general are blocked out in these dreams?

The oriental girl with a red scarf watches them with a serene smile, giggling occasionally.

Levi wonders if this foreboding in his chest is in mourning for what is to come or in anguish over what has been lost. Asking Eren for an answer leads nowhere.

*

He can't move. He can't move. He can't move.

It's not just panic in his systems, but his entire body seems to be screaming at him to run. There's danger coming. He has to get out of here.

But he can't move.

It's not that "he can't move" in a sense of sleep paralysis. It's not that. He can't move as in there's something magically restraining him. He can't move, he can't call upon his magic, he can't-

"Cool your head for the next 300 years, Eren."

"Damn you, Jea-"

Eren wakes him up by shaking him roughly. When Levi inquires about the dream, he receives a frustrated scowl.

"It's nothing," is the only thing Levi can get out of him.

*

Hange frowns as she flips through the dream diary Levi gave her in the morning.

"Is everything okay?" Moblit asks as he refills her tea.

"Levi sucks at writing reports," Hange groans. "I wish I had these dreams so I can figure out every little details! Damn it, Levi! Why are you so bad at this?"

Moblit lets out a soft sigh that seems more fond than exasperated.

"But this tired man is something new. It's always been just the oriental girl and the blond boy. Moblit, work with Levi to get a sketch of this guy."

"Understood."


	21. War Room: Survey Corps and the Military Police

"Thanks for meeting me, Nile," Erwin says in greeting to his old friend.

"You have no regards for danger as always."

Erwin chuckles like this is all in good fun. Nile doesn't seem to fall for it.

"So what is it that you're after?"

"I just wanted to see an old friend," Erwin says lightly.

Nile's expression remains aloof.

"Not even going to play along for old time's sake?"

Again, not a stir of emotion. "Erwin, we're standing on opposite sides of war. Don't."

If that's how Nile is, then Erwin supposes he cannot push this any further than this. It's a shame, he had been looking forward to talking to his old friend again.

"I have a proposition."

"If you mean to form an alliance with me, then are you willing to enter into a Mage's Vow?"

As expected of the Military Police's leader. A Mage's Vow would force those who have entered in it to be bound to their word by magic. Someone who breaks the Vow would end up losing their magic if lucky or their life if not.

But that's all within Erwin's calculations.

"I have no issue with that," Erwin says with as friendly a smile as he can muster. "What about... until our objective is met, we will not betray each other?"

"And what is our objective?" Nile asks.

Erwin knows that Nile will agree from that question.

"Let's bring down the Cart and Warhammer Titans first."

*

"Work with the Survey Corps? Are you sure you're not letting your old friendship blind you?" comes the sharp rebuke.

Nile must have expected that kind of a reaction, because his expression doesn't as much as twitch.

"This is a good chance to take out Marley and Tybur. Once those two are down, we can destroy Erwin's Survey Corps as well. A temporary truce can only aid us."

Not going to budge, huh? That's some damned cool display of loyalty and friendship. Almost brings a tear to Kenny's eyes.

"Sir, your expression doesn't suit the current situation," Traute warns.

Oops. He's grinning, isn't he? Kenny schools his expression so that he at least looks more sincere for the dumbasses of the Military Police that decided to go against their head.

"And that's the situation," they explain, switching off their magic from showing the rest of the memory of the exchange. "We don't deny that teaming up with a tactical genius like Erwin isn't a bad thought. But the problem becomes his Titan. The Attack Titan will betray us, even if it's against Erwin's orders."

"And so you came to me, the other Ackerman, because your main squeeze's cheating partner might betray him," Kenny sniggers.

"How terribly complicated, sir," Traute remarks.

"It is, isn't it?"

She nods in agreement.

The party poopers clear their throat to return the topic back to boring jealousy. "Can you kill Levi?"

"How cruel of you to ask me to kill my own nephew! Hey, I raised that kid myself, you know. Taught him how to kill and everything. And now you're saying I need to kill him!"

Their looks of utter disgust and annoyance are so funny. What? Did they think Kenny wouldn't call them out? If they're scum enough to hire a hitman to go behind someone else's Mage's Vow, then it is Kenny's duty to inform them that he will gladly pull the trigger for money, but they're the ones who aimed. The blood is on them both.

"The amount that we agreed to pay you to help us... We'll double it."

Kenny makes a buzzer sound. "You think that little is worth my cute nephew's life?"

"We'll triple it."

That came too fast. They came prepared to pay him triple, huh? Then how much more can Kenny push for?

"Not enough," Kenny says stubbornly. "Quadruple it."

Traute glances at Kenny for a second longer than strictly necessary but allows nothing to show on her face. Good ol' Traute. She knows better than to vocalize her confusion. Watch and learn. Kenny's going to teach her a cool new trick in regards to dealing with these kinds of snakes.

"You have got to be kidding me! That's too much!"

"And you're asking me to kill my nephew. Not only is he my flesh and blood, but I trained him! You think a normal method can kill an Ackerman?"

"It's true. I've tried many times, so I can attest to how hard it is to kill one," Traute assures them.

Heh. Never misses a beat, this one. Out of all of his assistants he took under his wings, Traute is definitely his favorite.

"E-even if that's the case, quadrupling the agreed upon price is too much."

"I'm not doing this as charity," Kenny declares.

Despite their words, they look at one another seriously. See? What did Kenny say? They came prepared to give at least that much. Learn well, Traute. That way, he'll be able to leave these types of dealings to her and he can focus on the fun part.

"We'll pardon your crimes."

"Which ones?" Kenny asks.

"All of them. Your slate will be wiped clean."

That is far more than he thought he'd be able to squeeze out of them. But from the uneasy way they're glancing at each other, he's pretty sure he can ask for more.

"And?"

"The same for your... group."

They glance at Traute when they say that. She actually rolls her eyes at them and sighs at them like they're pathetic. Pfft. Hahaha! She's such a great girl. Already figured it out, did she?

"And?" Kenny prompts.

"W-we'll cover the cost for any and all operation. Weapons, travel cost, everything."

The others look like they're in physical pain at the thought. But none of them say anything to the contrary. So that's their worst possible outcome?

Good.

Then this is the one that Kenny will accept.

"Alright. Triple the original cost, pardon the crimes for myself and every member of my group, and you guys will cover the cost for everything during the War. Sounds about right?"

"Understand that this is all on the condition that you kill Levi Ackerman and ensure our victory."

Yeah, yeah. He gets it. He gets it.

He'll go check up on his little nephew. What kind of nasty habits did Levi pick up while Kenny was gone? He's rather excited to find out.


	22. Hange's Titan Observation 6

Eren doesn't sleep. Hange knows this because she snuck into the room provided for him few times and he most definitely wasn't in there each time. Yes, she got quite a bit of scolding from Moblit, but, in her defense, what was Moblit doing looking around for her in the middle of the night anyways? Jeesh, she keeps warning him that he's not going to be able to settle down if he keeps stalking his boss like this...

The earliest Eren can be found in the morning is a little before Levi wakes up. He showers (Levi's influence, Hange assumes) and then heads to the kitchen to help with breakfast.

After breakfast is typically tailing Levi through the morning routine of light training, watching over other Survey Corps members, and morning cleaning. From the rather smugly satisfied grin on Levi's face, Hange concludes that their Titan's ability to clean is up to his ridiculous standards. What a horrible Master. If it was Hange, she wouldn't waste their rare encounter with a Titan by making him clean all the time. No, no. She would experiment nonstop.

Sometimes, Eren helps out with making lunch. On those days, the food feels a little sweeter than usual. But that can just be Hange. No one has reported the same, so she assumes she's just sensitive to Eren's tastes.

Typically, Levi reserves his paperwork for after lunch. During this time, their diligent Attack Titan cleans. Once, when Levi left for a meeting, Eren sat in front of the door and waited for his return. It was honestly the cutest thing. Hange, of course, wasted no time telling Moblit to capture the moment. But that picture somehow got leaked to others (No, Hange did not share it with every person that walked by. She doesn't appreciate whoever it is spreading this filthy lie), and now the Levi Squad members go out of their way to make sure he's not idle.

If Gunther finds him, he drags their Titan out to the courtyard to spar with the other Survey Corps members. If Eld finds him, he takes their Titan to the library to read while Eld finishes up his paperwork. If Oluo finds him, he places a mop or rag in their Titan's hands to start cleaning. All of these things are a little annoying, but Hange can deal with because Eren stays on base.

But if Petra finds their Titan? That evil she-witch gives Eren money and sends him out on errands! If Hange doesn't catch Eren early enough to follow after him, she has to admit defeat and just wait for his return. It is the worst thing anyone can do to their Titan!

"Why don't you stop by the coffee shop? He goes there often enough," Moblit suggests.

"I don't want him to think that he doesn't have a place he can call his own. It said in _Adopting a Dog for Idiots_ that your dog will open up better if they have a place they can call exclusively their own."

"And you don't see anything wrong with comparing a Titan to a dog?"

Hange sighs. "Maybe I should've bought a book on cats instead."

"I don't think that's the problem..."


	23. War Room: Marley and the Tybur Family

Calvi tosses the offer on the table before scoffing. "Are you kidding me? This is the best that you can offer?"

For a man who has been invited into the Tybur Family's mansion, this man sure has quite the nerve to act high and mighty. Willy smiles despite his thoughts.

"Please do check the conditions more carefully. That's the amount yearly."

That catches the General's attention. Calvi picks up the offer again and flips through it. Then he must have realized exactly what he missed the first time around, because his eyebrows jump to his hairline. He tries to compose himself by pretending to cough.

"I-I see. I spoke too soon, it appears. This amount is plenty for what is being asked for."

Of course, the minute Willy's wish is granted, this treaty will become moot. But there's no need for a greedy person who can't even read the fine print to know that.

"My worry," Willy says, "is that nothing we say will be enough to convince the Titans to work together."

Calvi waves his hand in the air. "Nonsense. A Titan is just a tool. If the Master commands it, they have no room to disobey."

Is this also the result of his ancestor's wish? The people he goes to make deals with always end up to be idiots that are easily manipulated? He wants to believe that that's true, because otherwise, it's much too sad that all the people at the top are this idiotic.

"Then I'll leave that side to you. I look forward to both of our prosperity!"

*

Calvi is a fucking retard, and Theo is going to lose his mind.

"I'm going to turn in my resignation," Theo groans as he rubs his temples.

"Please don't joke about that," Marcel says lightly as he passes the latest magic research documents. "You know the rest of us can't handle the General without you."

"Then what about this? I'll go on a vacation for the next three years. Once the War has long been over, I'll return."

Marcel has the good graces to smile brightly at Theo. "Please do so only when you're ready to take responsibility for Marley falling apart!"

"'When,' not if?"

The brat dares to continue to smile without adding anything more. If he wasn't the most talented at paperwork that hasn't been stolen by other divisions, Theo would have definitely punished him. As it is, he's going to need Marcel to hold the fort in terms of paperwork while he deals with the headache that is Calvi and his most recent "genius" idea of teaming up with the Tybur family. Maybe he should send Porco out on a petty errand as revenge.

That vacation sounds so tempting right now...

*

"I seem to distinctly remember giving you a warning against teaming up with the Tyburs," the Cart Titan remarks as soon as the two of them are alone in the room.

Theo waves at the air to let her know that it's okay to show herself. She appears sitting on his desk, arms crossed and glaring down at him.

"This one is out of my hand. I unfortunately can't control what Calvi does," Theo tells her. "But this doesn't have to mean we play into their hand."

"That's the same thing my former Master said."

Yeah, he didn't think it'd be that easy to convince her.

"Alright. Then how do you propose to deal with the Attack Titan without the Warhammer? As you've said, that Titan is the only one with the abilities for long range. Do you truly believe you can defeat him on your own without any form of alliance?" Theo asks.

"We might be able to make-do with an alliance with the Female Titan. Her range isn't as large as the Warhammer, but it's still more space than I would normally have," the Cart insists.

"And I told you. The Female was most likely summoned to the Military Police. Seeing that the leader of that faction is an old friend with Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps, it's more likely that she'll be our enemy in the very near future."

The Cart purses her lips. Got nothing else? Really? Theo can't tell if that's just how terrifying the Attack Titan is or if this is just the level of her strategies.

"You know, it's been nearly 300 years since the last time you saw a mage fight." Theo reaches for the documents Marcel brought in and hands it over to her. "Mind, this is still in its testing stages so I don't know how ready it'll be for battle. But this is an option."

She takes the documents and begins to flip through them. Immediately, her brows furrow and her lips pull into a disgusted frown.

"You're going to use non-magical weapons?"

Yeah, that's the same reaction Theo himself had when Marcel first brought this up. It's part of the reason why it took so long to get the green light for this project, even with the War looming over them. But now that they've gotten to this point, Theo is regretting being one of the obstacles that tried to stop it.

"It looks that way, yes. But this is actually a magical weapon. The shape is that way to help with aiming. But what you'll be firing is your own magic," Theo says, paraphrasing Marcel's arguments.

"To think that the mage's world has fallen so low."

Theo can't even come up with a good defense to that.

"For now, this is the best we've got in terms of a long-range. We will make this work."

The smile on her face is mocking.

"As you wish, Master."


	24. Chance Encounter: Krista, Ymir, and Eren

"Eh? Pasta again? Krista, don't you think we should change our meal from time to time?" Ymir groans as the two make their way back home after their shopping trip.

"You don't cook, so you don't get to decide," Krista chides.

Her lectures at Ymir about eating meals together must have finally sunk in, because Ymir doesn't point out that she doesn't need to eat like she normally does. Or maybe it's because they're out in the streets? Either way, Krista is grateful.

She knows, okay?

Ymir is a Titan. Once the War is over, she'll disappear off to wherever it is that Titans go when there isn't a War happening. Getting to know her and becoming friends with her are both foolish deeds that will only hurt Krista in the long run. But she's also hopeful that by the time the War ends, she'll have her family by her side, so she won't be lonely.

Is that too naïve a dream?

"Aw, but it's still-"

Ymir cuts herself off.

There's a look in her eyes that screams of danger. Just what did she see? Krista cranes her neck to find what's going on and finds it rather quickly.

A young man about her age stands in front of a coffee shop with a drink in one hand. He has a cheerful grin on his face, and he is most definitely looking at them.

Ymir takes a step forward to hide Krista behind her.

"I-is that...?"

Krista doesn't bother finishing her question. From the swelling of magic around that young man, it's clear that he is most definitely a Titan. No normal mage would show off their magic this readily, especially not in Marley territory. Their surveillance for these types of things are scary strict.

"Well, well. Looks like my luck's turning around," the young man chuckles.

Is that smoke surrounding them? That's bad. The Titan that specializes in smoke magic is the Attack Titan. According to the reports the Reiss family put together about the previous Wars for her, the Attack Titan is the most bloodthirsty Titan of them all. In one of the Wars, he killed an entire orphanage of kids because he was bored. If they were to start fighting here, every innocent bystander will be caught in it.

"We can't fight here. There are too many people that will get caught up in this," Krista tells Ymir.

"Are you seriously worried about other people right now?"

That's not it. The role of the Reiss family in the War is to minimize civilian damage. Even if she is just a bastard child, she can't look away from her family duty. She doesn't really care who gets caught up in their War, but she doesn't want to trouble her family.

"Ymir, we need to run."

Krista sees her hesitate. Then Ymir lets out a small nod.

"Okay. We'll-"

An almost violent crackle of magic surrounds Ymir. Instinctively, Krista understands that they won't be able to run as Ymir struggles against the magic for a second before collapsing to her knees. The crackle doesn't disappear completely. And Ymir holds her hand up to Krista to warn her not to get too close.

"'Run?' How do you plan on doing that when you have no legs?" the Attack Titan asks as he slowly approaches them with a mocking laugh.

This feeling in the pit of her stomach that's freezing her to the core is most likely fear. But she needs to move. Even if it means that everyone in this area will be sacrificed to the Attack Titan's cruelty, she cannot die here.

She has to win this War, any means necessary.

Krista swings the the groceries with as much force as she can muster. It smashes into the Attack Titan's face. That sound of crack is most likely the glass jar of the tomato sauce shattering inside of the bag as it clashes against a magical barrier. But that's going to be precious few seconds they need.

"Ymir, run!"

She feels her Titan's arms securely grab her before Ymir bolts out of there, using magic to propel herself. When Krista looks back, it looks like the Attack Titan is still standing in spot with no intention to chase after them.

"I don't think he's going to chase us," she tells Ymir.

"Until we're sure we're safe, I'm not stopping."

Krista supposes that's fair. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially against someone like the Attack Titan.

"Ah! Our dinner!" she groans. "What are we going to do about our meal tonight?"

"Let's just focus on the fact that we're alive for now!"

*

Marcel stops Porco from approaching the two causing a scene with their magic in the middle of the street. His brother gives him a questioning look, but if Marcel's guess is right, then what they're going to have to worry about isn't stopping dumb mages from showing their magic to non-magical civilians.

That blonde girl made a good decision to run.

It's doubtful that decision was made because she realized that they were being watched or because they were afraid of getting innocent bystanders involved. More likely, she recognized that she and her companion won't be able to win against the breathtakingly beautiful man before them. He doesn't even blame her for arriving on that conclusion. In fact, he's rather impressed that she was able to move despite such tremendous pressure of magic.

Marcel himself is still frozen.

"They're getting away, Marce!"

"It's fine. Chasing them now will only be to our disadvantage."

Marcel doesn't think he'll be able to give chase anyways. Not to mention he doesn't think he'll be able to challenge that man either. That amount of magic isn't normal. Without a doubt, they almost witnessed two Titans clashing.

"Ahhhh! I can't believe you! I told you to stop that!" comes a voice that's much too familiar.

Marcel watches in disbelief as Falco approaches the man without any sign of fear. The rest of the lecture is said in a lower volume, so Marcel can't hear them. But the magic swirling around the man stops immediately. In fact, the man even lowers his head in shame.

"What... the hell?" Porco whispers.

Did... Falco summon a Titan? No, there's no way. Colt wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. Then is that man just a normal mage? A normal mage with that much magic? Is that even possible? Wait. Didn't Magath say that an Ackerman was working for the Survey Corps? Is this man that Ackerman...?

Either way, they need to get involved.

"Falco!" Marcel yells out cheerfully. He approaches the group with a friendly a smile as he can muster, knowing Porco will just be a step behind. "Who's this? And are you alright? It looks like you're bleeding."

"It's tomato sauce," the man says with a shrug.

"Oh, Mr. Marcel and Mr. Porco! I'm really sorry about Mr. Kruger here. He's really airheaded, but he didn't mean anything by using his magic," Falco rushes to explain. Marcel doesn't miss that Falco is trying to usher the larger man behind himself. Doesn't this scene almost look like Falco is trying to hide the dog he's been raising in secret?

But Kruger, huh? So he isn't an Ackerman? Or is that a fake name? How much does Falco actually know about this?

"Nice to meet you," Marcel says with a bright smile. "I do wish it was under better conditions. For now, let's grab the trash and move out of sight."

"Sorry. I need to get going," Kruger tells them. He gives them a small wave and walks off, completely ignoring the commotion he caused here.

"Hey-"

Marcel stops Porco from saying anything more. That man, whether he is an Ackerman or a Titan, isn't someone they can challenge without any plans. Right now, Marcel would rather focus on this.

He picks up the receipt from the grocery bag. It's splattered in tomato sauce, but he can still make out the words. Good. He has a lead in terms of chasing the two girls from before. And with that out of the way...

"Falco, what do you know about that man?"


	25. Alliance of Survey Corps and Military Police

"Gross. Are they seriously using an airship yard as their base?" Hitch grumbles.

Marlowe lets out a sigh. "Keep your opinion to yourself. This is supposed to be a treaty meet-and-greet."

"Which is dumb. We're going to be fighting eventually. What's the point in pretending to be friendly?"

"That's good. We have the same opinion."

Both Hitch and Marlowe turn to see a grin on a young man's face. The young man wears the Survey Corps uniform. What's this guy doing away from the rest of his squad? Shouldn't he have better manners than to crash other people's conversation?

A drop in temperature is the only warning they get before the Female Titan takes her human form, standing before the young man as if to protect both Hitch and Marlowe.

"Where's your leash, dog?"

"Ehhh? How unfriendly. We're going to be forced to work together, you know. There's no harm in saying hello to the fellows you'll eventually kill."

The Female Titan tenses and glares at the young man. "You've said hello. Leave."

"Rude!" the young man says, shaking his head. "You wouldn't treat Armin like this."

"Armin isn't a senseless murderer like you."

The young man laughs like that's the funniest thing he's heard. "Because murder makes so much sense, right?"

It occurs to both Marlowe and Hitch belated that this must be the Survey Corps' Titan. The bloodthirsty Attack Titan. If the Female Titan didn't appear to take his attention away from them, there's a good chance that they might have been struck down, alliance or not.

"There you are. I told you not to go ahead on your own," comes a sharp voice.

The Attack Titan straightens and salutes. "They looked lost so I offered them help."

What a smooth lie. If they weren't there themselves, they would've believed that was the truth.

The man the Attack Titan greeted is a short man with a rather terrifying glare. He glances at Marlowe and Hitch before turning his attention back to the Attack Titan.

"Like hell you were," the man growls. "Apologize to them. They're going to be our allies for the upcoming battle."

"But we're going to kill them later. Why do I have to do something so troublesome?" the Attack Titan whines.

"Because treating the dead with respect is the least you can do."

The people at the Survey Corps are, as always, pieces of shits.


	26. Hange's Titan Observation 7

"Don't you know? The Female Titan is considered the most beautiful Titan!" Hange explains.

Eren blinks blankly for a second before he bursts out laughing. "Hahaha! The most beautiful!! Hahaha!"

The Female Titan gives him a dirty look that's echoed by her Master. But neither of them vocally state their problem. Hange can't quite tell if Eren noticed it or is oblivious to it.

"Don't be stupid! The most beautiful Titan is the Founding Titan!"

The...? Now that Hange thinks about it, she can't recall a single document ever describing the Founding Titan. They know that the wish of the winner of the War will be granted by her, but that's about all they know.

"What does she look like?" Hange asks.

"She's... If you combine all the coolest part about every Titan, that's her."

That's harder to visualize. Hange tries to think about what she knows of all the titans. So the Founding must be as large as the Colossal, is covered in armor, has boobs, has an iron jaw, is covered in long hair, and walks on all four? Wait, where does the Attack Titan's feature fit in this? And why does it feel like she forgot someone else?

"The Founding Titan looks like a giant armor-wearing dog?" Hange tries to guess.

Eren opens his mouth and then shuts it. He tilts his head to the side as if thinking very hard about something.

I-is Hange's guess correct?!

"Don't mislead them!" the Female Titan snaps. "Her beauty is something that a normal human will not be able to grasp because you don't have the magic for it. Just leave it like that."

"Oh! Beautiful because of the immense magic!" Hange says, snapping her fingers.

Eren nods. "The best of all the Titans put into one."

He meant their magic! Hange laughs. Jeesh, leave it to their Titan to confuse everyone. Hange can't help but to ruffle Eren's hair affectionately. He looks at her confused but doesn't refuse it.

"Would we ever see her?" Hitch asks, looking rather excited.

"Only if you win. It takes a lot of magic for her to manifest. So she rarely does. Once you win, you'll be called to her world, the Paths, where you'll be able to see her in her human form."

"Has she ever manifested in her Titan form?" Hange asks.

Both Eren and the Female Titan go silent. The Female Titan looks at Eren almost accusingly while Eren lowers his gaze at the ground.

"Answer the question," Levi tells him.

With a blush of embarrassment, Eren says, "In the last War when I was killed. She manifested to laugh."

Hey, isn't that a really frivolous reason to use that much magic to manifest?!

"She didn't laugh," the Female Titan insists.

"But anyways, that was the first and last time she manifested here," Eren says.

"So if we kill you, then will we be able to see her?" Hitch asks.

Eren shrugs. "Don't know. She probably doesn't have enough magic to do that again."

"But to manifest just to laugh at someone's death... Eren, you're quite hated, aren't you?" Hange asks, patting the poor Attack Titan's shoulder.

"W-whua?! Don't make it weird! I-I'm not hated!"

"You're hated," the Female Titan confirms.

Eren pouts. "You're not supposed to confirm it!"

When it's like this, it's a little hard to think of these two as legendary monsters.

*

"It's cold here, don't you think?" Marlowe says as he puts his jacket over Hitch.

Now that he mentioned it, Hitch is shivering quite a lot. But is it really cold? Hange doesn't really feel like it is. As soon as she thought so, the temperature of the room seems to have dropped.

"Instead of putting on a farce like this, isn't it easier to make Annie go away?" Eren asks Hitch. "Why does the rest of us have to suffer her ice just because you're too prideful?"

Hitch flushes red. "I-I don't know what you're talking about! I am a-"

"Your circuitry's all messed up. And you still managed to summon a Titan with that. That's pretty impressive on itself. But if you keep pushing yourself too much, you'll just be an annoyance to the rest of us. Then again, I suppose that'll make you an easy picking."

Eren leans back and dodges an ice crystal thrown in his direction. The Female Titan glares him down, but he just grins.

"You sure have a soft spot for broken mages, huh?"

"I'm not broken!" Hitch yells.

The magic around her swells, but it fizzles out and disappears. Hange doesn't have the heart to correct her.

"Eren, leave it at that," Levi orders. "We're supposed to be allies."

No one's saying it, but isn't that a serious flaw of the Master of Military Police that Eren just pointed out? Hange decides she'll report it to Erwin later and leave it at that.


	27. War Room: Survey Corps, Military Police, and the Garrison

Pixis stares at Nile and Erwin's serious faces with a small sigh. "I'm much too old to play these little mind games of yours. If you want something, you'll just have to say it to my face."

"I'm sure by now, you've also heard the news that Marley has teamed up with the Tyburs. Judging from what happened in the previous War, there's no way that their Titans will want to work together. That makes them the perfect target to bring down," Erwin says.

"So you're asking for a temporary alliance while we bring those two down," Pixis summarizes.

"Correct."

Nile adds, "As the Warhammer has the greatest range, it is vital that we prioritize that one first."

Pixis doesn't deny that. What he's more worried about is the fact that Nile and Erwin seem to be on the same page. These two are childhood friends, aren't they? Then isn't it possible that they've already planned something outside of their own factions' interests? For now, not having immediate enemies is the safest route to take.

But this is still worrisome.

"I have no objections to an alliance. But I would like a guarantee that we won't immediately turn on each other as soon as those two are out of the picture. I would like... let's say three days of truce afterwards before we start coming for each others' throats."

For now, the best he can do is buy this bit of time. But this is rather problematic. What can he accomplish in three days to counter against both Nile and Erwin? If the two of them team up against him, that's it for him.

What can he do to protect the Garrison members?

*

"Why don't we set them against one another?" Floch suggests.

Anka shakes her head no. "Unfortunately, they'll know immediately if we try something that obvious."

"Because they're friends, right? But do they even have the same goals? What are the wishes that each of them are fighting for? If they're not the same, then at the end of the day, they will also have to fight each other."

"It's a thought, but I doubt that they would have a fallout over something that obvious. Erwin Smith is a tactical genius. He wouldn't leave something like that in the open for anyone to attack."

Pixis nods. Although Floch is making good effort, Anka's right. Pursuing that line of thought would most likely end up with them playing into Erwin's hands.

"A way to defeat those two while keeping in mind what is too obvious to attack... No matter how I turn it in my head, it's impossible to think of," Gustav sighs.

Hey, come now. They're throwing in the towel already? Pixis chuckles and takes a sip of his flask. Young people rush too much.

"There's just one thing to do at that point in time, isn't there?"

His Garrison members look to him curiously, so he fills them in.

"We pick one side who looks like they'll win and back them."

"W-what if they're on the same level?" Floch asks.

Pixis pretends to think about it. "Then I suppose we'll flip a coin. Hahaha!"

"This is no laughing matter, sir!"


	28. Chance Encounter: Marlowe and Eren

"Hitch sure is carefree..." Marlowe sighs as he rubs the back of his neck.

They're in the middle of a War, and she's worried about hair products and skin care routines. When Marlowe pointed that out to her, she got mad and told him that she won't accept an apology until he returned with her favorite drink from a coffee shop. Can't she understand how worrisome it is to be putting faith in a Master who cannot keep her Titan in human form for more than an hour? What's Hitch going to do if the Female Titan can't manifest as her Titan self during a battle?

"Ah... Y-you?!" Marlowe can't help but to exclaim when he spots the Attack Titan casually buying himself some coffee and sweets.

"Do I know you?" comes the rather cold greeting.

Marlowe isn't such an idiot to blurt out who he is. Not in Marley territory. They're way too militaristic here for such a casual slip of the tongue to not come back to bite them.

"We're going to be working together from now on, remember? I'm Marlowe?" is the best Marlowe can offer without tipping off the non-magical civilians.

"Doesn't ring a bell."

A-are they supposed to pretend to not know each other? Is that what's going on? Did Marlowe miss that part of the briefing?

"I-I'll... er... l-leave you be," Marlowe decides.

He gets in line to order Hitch's drink. It's a simple enough order, but he's upset at how much such a simple order costs. It's not like he added extra whip or anything. So how can it-

"You should get her extra whip. And maybe that chocolate drizzle thingie."

Marlowe glances next to him where the Attack Titan looks to him. Did he remember who Marlowe is now? Is that what this is?

"She'll get annoyed at me if I get her something too fattening," Marlowe explains. Not to mention it'll get even more expensive once he starts adding extras like that.

"Shame. Even that little bit could go a long way when your days are numbered."

This damned... Must he continue to act as if it is guaranteed that Hitch will die?

"You seem rather confident about that," Marlowe grumbles.

The Attack Titan stares at him for a second longer before he smiles. "Check out her fingertips when you get the chance later. Then I've wasted enough time here. Bye!"

*

It's not because the Attack Titan told him to that he decides to check it. It isn't. He just happened to see her fingertips because he was handing the drink over to her. And yes, he got the extra whip, shut up.

"O-oh. It's so sweet... D-did you get me extra whip?" She asks him in disbelief.

"I... thought you'd like it. S-sorry. Did you not want any?"

There's a small pause before Hitch's cheeks flushes red. She glares at the drink, clearly unable to meet eyes with Marlowe.

"I-I don't... h-hate it... Uh... T-thanks."

It's quite possibly the first time Marlowe ever thought that Hitch looked cute. But that feeling is marred by the grey color on the tips of her fingers. Grey? Hitch is super careful about skincare. There's no way that she would let others see herself when she's less than perfect.

There's a thick lump in Marlowe's throat.

*

"Hey! Attack Titan! Hey! Show yourself!"

Marlowe doesn't understand himself. Why does he feel so shaken? It's just spoiled Hitch. If things get a little rough, she's going to call for her father to save her as she always does. But...

To turn a blind eye after finding out about this would make him lower than scum.

"Hey! Att-"

"You do understand that we're temporary allies, right? I have no obligation to you," the Attack Titan says as he takes his human form before Marlowe. Despite his words, he's still here, huh?

"Hitch's fingertips! Why are they grey? What did you do?"

The Attack Titan rolls his eyes. "Her circuitry is messed up, and she's trying to manage a magic-sucking leech known as a Titan. What do you think?"

"But why are her fingertips grey? That makes no sense!"

"Do you guys not learn about how circuitry works in this era? She has more than enough magic to summon a Titan and sustain her. But her circuitry prevents that magic from manifesting normally. With nowhere to go, the magic bottles up at different parts of her body. Do you get the picture now?"

Bottled up magic? Because of her circuitry? But that was never an issue before. Marlowe doesn't understand. Is this truly something that happens often that all mages know about? As a second generation mage, Marlowe knows that his own knowledge is spotty at best. But he doesn't recall hearing something this terrifying before.

"It used to happen a lot with older mage families," the Attack Titan explains. "Because they wanted to keep magic within certain bloodlines."

So basically this is the mage's version of inbreeding. Hitch often bragged that she was a twenty-first generation mage. So who knows just how much of her own genetics were twisted from years of...

"Can you help her?" Marlowe asks.

"Why would I do that?"

Fine. If not help then...

"Tell me what I need to do to help her!"

The Attack Titan looks annoyed, but he goes along with it, surprising Marlowe. To be honest, he thought that the Attack Titan wouldn't have even bothered to entertain his questions.

"You could do a few things, I guess. The best thing you could do is to get her to transfer the Master position to a different mage. But I doubt her pride would allow for something like that. That leaves either ending the War before she completely exhausts herself or minimize her usage of Annie. Seeing that there's no way that she'll be able to fight in her condition, your only option is to make Annie take her spirit form for as long as possible."

That's actually all very reasonable. Not to mention that last bit sounds like something that the Female Titan herself suggested before. For someone who will end up their enemy eventually, the Attack Titan is rather kind, isn't he?

"Ah, but I should mention this. If the fingertips have already changed colors, then you don't have very long before she'll die. Assuming that she does everything right, she'll probably get at most a month left to live."

... Huh?

The Attack Titan laughs. "Why do you look so surprised for? You knew from the get-go that I'm not on your side. Isn't it weirder that you're asking me for advice? Do you really have no one else that you can turn to?"

Everyone Marlowe tried to talk to about this immediately changed the topic. He doesn't know how much money Hitch's family poured into the Military Police so that she can get the position as the Master, but it must have been a monstrous amount to keep even the corrupt members silent. He doesn't understand. As an old mage family the Dreyse should already know about this. Then shouldn't they realize what kind of danger Hitch would be in by making her the Master? Why would they...?

"Did they do this on purpose? Her family, I mean. I might not know about circuitry or whatnot, but they would surely know. So they have a way to save her, right? That's the only thing I can think of!"

The laughter dies on the Attack Titan's lips as they pull into an annoyed scowl.

"C'mon. You can't be that thick. It's the same old mage pride as always. 'I would rather die a dog's death than to admit that I have no affinity for magic.' At this point, you're better off asking yourself whether she wants your help. Shoving yourself into a matter of her pride will only push her further away from you."

Marlowe knows that. Of course, he does. How can he not? That's more or less how Hitch has always been. He isn't so stupid as to think that Hitch wasn't spurred by her spite for him. In that sense, he is powerless. There's absolutely nothing he can do alone to convince her to live.

"If... you were to kill the Female Titan, how long would she be able to live?"

"Depends on how soon I can do it and how well she'll behave once Annie dies. But you should easily be able to help her manage her magic once a Titan stops sapping her."

So there is a way. It's not completely hopeless. There is a way to...

"Please! When it's time for you to fight the Female Titan, leave Hitch out of it! Please let her live!"

The Attack Titan stares at Marlowe for a second longer before he snarls.

"The hell would I do that for?" he growls. "The easiest and fastest way to get rid of a Titan is to go after their Master. Instead of putting on this pathetic show of begging for help, why don't you rub your brain cells together in hopes of coming up with a plan to protect her?"

"Because I'm not strong enough!"

The Attack Titan grabs Marlowe by the collar. "If she is important to you, then find a way!"

There's a swirl of magic that threatens to choke Marlowe where he stands. The feeling of immense pressure of sheer magic weighs him down until he collapses to his knees. Looks like the only thing that's holding him up is the Attack Titan's hold on his collar.

Slowly, the Attack Titan forces himself to breath. He releases his hold on Marlowe, letting Marlowe fall to the ground.

"If you don't find a way, when I fight Annie, I'll make sure to target Hitch."

Then the Attack Titan leaves.

Marlowe stays on the ground for a while longer before he slowly picks himself up.

Someone whistles lowly and chuckles. "Haha! What a pathetic show! Are you that desperate to save that girl that you'll go crawling to the enemy's Titan?"

"T-that is..." Marlowe finds that he doesn't have anything more to add.

"Pfft!! Alright. I've decided. I'll allow you to help me. In return, we'll orchestrate it so that you can save that girl. What do you say?"

"Who... are you?"

The man laughs. "You haven't heard of me? I'm Kenny the Ripper."


	29. Alliance of Marley and the Tybur Family

There should be a limit to being unaware and stupid, but Calvi manages to prove Theo wrong every time.

"And how much did this painting cost?!"

To his credit, the Tybur family heir laughs easily. "Less than the wine you're drinking, actually! Hahaha!"

Theo feels a twinge of regret for not accepting a glass. He ignores the frigid glare from the Cart Titan.

"But you know, if we go along with this plan, wouldn't this mansion and all the expensive items in here all be destroyed?" Calvi asks.

Willy doesn't seem all that bothered. "This is just a fraction of my family's wealth. So it's not a problem if it gets destroyed."

Jeesh. Is that what it means to win a War? Then perhaps Theo should make a private wish instead of one for Marley. Then again, it's not like he has any family member to pass that kind of wealth to. It'll probably be confiscated by Marley and Calvi's greed anyways. Thinking of it like that, it's much better to stick with Marley's goal from the get-go.

"Still, it seems such a waste," Calvi sighs, staring mournfully at the painting.

Theo doubts Calvi sees anything but the price tag attached to the painting.

"Well, now that we've agreed upon the strategy, we'll be taking our leave," Theo decides.

"Wait. Before that, I want to have a guarantee," the Cart says. "Last time, you killed my Master in the confusion of the battle. This time, swear on your magic that you will not take such a cheap shot."

"I can say the same to you. With how we've arranged for things this time around, it's far more likely that you'll kill me before we ever face the Attack," the Warhammer remarks.

"So let's swear on our magic now. Neither of us will attack the other's Master until the Attack goes down. If either of us fails to keep this bargain, our life will be forfeit."

Specifying "Masters," huh? How disingenuous. The Cart can last much longer without a Master to sustain her than any other Titans. She has the upperhand in that kind of situation. This is more or less saying that if the Warhammer kills Theo, the Cart will go after her with everything she's got.

"Why don't we change that to 'as long as both of us are still participants of the War and the Attack Titan is alive, we will not attack one another or our Masters?' Isn't that much neater?" the Warhammer suggests.

Making sure that she doesn't get back-stabbed during the fighting as well, huh? That's probably as fair as they're going to get.

Theo glances at the Cart, who seems to have arrived on the same conclusion.

"Alright. Those are agreeable conditions to me."

Good. With that out of the way, they need to set up for their plan. Erwin is a genius tactician. There's no doubt that he'll have something more planned than just teaming up with the Military Police members. What else is that devil of a man going to bring?


	30. Chance Encounter: the Galliard Brothers and Eren

Porco stills suddenly, catching Marcel's attention. Then just as suddenly, Porco marches off, his lips drawing back into a scowl. It baffles Marcel, sure. But it's not like his brother hasn't done weirder things. It's probably something dumb like someone littering and-

"Yo! Give me a bite."

... Is he extorting a kid?!

Marcel turns and sees just in time as "Kruger" holds his half-eaten cake pop up for Porco. Porco, this dumbass, takes the whole thing in his mouth. When he pulls back, there's nothing but the stick left. From Kruger's shocked expression, it's clear that he didn't expect such a betrayal.

"Y-you said a bite!" Kruger exclaims.

"That was a bite!" Porco protests, mouth full.

Marcel feels a headache forming. Why the hell is his brother so damned stupid? Are they really from the same parents? For now, he needs to calm the situation so that Kruger doesn't lash out with his magic.

Taking a deep breath to calm his irritation at his brother, Marcel goes into the coffee shop and buys both of them cake pops.

"Forgive Porco with this, okay?" Marcel says, holding the strawberry one out for Kruger. He gives Porco the vanilla one to shut him up from protesting.

Both of the damned children shut up with their respective cake pops. Why the hell does Marcel have to deal with these types of things even when off-duty?

"Uh... Kruger, right?" Marcel asks.

He receives a small nod in answer.

Of course, Marcel has already done his research. There is no one with the name "Kruger" registered as a mage within the Marleyan territory. And the man known as "Levi Ackerman" that the Survey Corps hired doesn't look like Kruger. His original theory that Kruger must actually be a Titan feels more and more like the truth.

"I'm Marcel Galliard and this is my brother Porco. I'm not sure if you remember, but we met briefly in the streets with Falco."

Kruger gives him a blank look. Okay, fine. Whatever. It's not like Marcel expected to be remembered from their very brief encounter anyways.

"Remember? You were harassing two girls with your magic and Falco told you off?" Porco says without any form of tact.

Porco, Marcel wants to scream, they're trying to prevent Kruger from using his magic in public again!

"Oh! The tomato sauce guys!" Kruger says, snapping his fingers.

You were the one covered in tomato sauce!

Marcel feels his smile strain. "We are looking into those girls that you were talking to that day. The blonde girl is known as Krista Lenz, but such a person does not exist within our registry of mages. Not to mention we can't figure out who the other girl she was with either. You seemed like you were familiar with them. Won't you please share any information you might have?"

"You don't have to make it sound so convoluted. That blonde girl was a Master and the other one was the Jaw Titan," Kruger tells them.

"The Jaw...?! H-how could you tell?" Porco demands.

Kruger points to himself. "Attack Titan."

On one hand, Marcel's theory is correct that this person is most definitely a Titan. But to be so casually told that isn't exactly comforting.

"Y-you're a what?!" Porco exclaims.

"The Attack Titan," Kruger repeats. "You couldn't tell? The mages of this era sure are lacking..."

"H-how are we supposed to know that you're a Titan? You just... sit around and eat!" Porco accuses, pointing a finger at Kruger.

Please, don't pick a fight with a Titan. At least wait until Marcel has a plan for dealing with one.

"Would you rather I terrorized the people?" Kruger asks.

"Please don't do that," Marcel rushes to say. He gives his brother a warning look. Then back to Kruger, he adds, "I'm rather surprised that you just told us your identity, though. Or that you'd go around so freely without any sign of your Master."

"It's not like third-rate mages like you can stop me. You guys couldn't even recognize Titans when they were about to fight in front of you. As for my Master... I'll tell you who it is if you buy me another one."

Kruger holds the empty cake pop stick in the air and grins at Marcel. Cheeky. He seemed more calm and sheepish when Falco was around. Or is it because Marcel already gave in and bought him something? Huh? Doesn't that mean that in Kruger's mind, Marcel ranks lower than Falco in terms of respect?

"Marcel, don't just stand there. Get him another one," Porco orders. "Oh, and I want a chocolate one this time."

"Me too!"

These stupid...

Marcel closes his eyes and forces himself to take a deep breath. Then he takes his leave.

*

"... isn't very good. If I order a strawberry tart, I expect it to have strawberries on it, you know?"

And they aren't even talking about important matters. Leaving Porco alone to talk to a Titan wasn't too smart of him, was it? But this at least keeps the Titan from wandering off before they get more information. Mind, Marcel doesn't necessarily need said information. But he's curious as to know what a Titan would tell them.

"Unfortunately, they were out. So you'll have to settle for these two blueberry cake pops," Marcel tells the two idiots.

Porco makes a face. "I don't want that!"

"Then I'll take both," Kruger says.

Immediately, Porco grabs one of them. "Marcel bought it for me. This one's mine."

You childish and selfish-

"That's fine. I just wanted to see how much I can push you," Kruger tells Marcel with a sweet smile.

This one isn't that much better!

"Then both of you give those back," Marcel says.

The two quickly shoves their cake pops into their mouths. Yeah, Marcel thought so.

"So who's your Master? Which fraction are you with?" Porco asks.

"Levi Ackerman of the Survey Corps," Kruger answers.

Yeah, Marcel could have answered that. Porco, stop looking so shocked. It was obvious. The reports said that the Survey Corps summoned the Attack Titan. Did he forget that already? This is why Marcel can't reliably leave Porco alone for too long...

"Okay, then the Jaw Titan. How were you planning on fighting her in the streets without hurting anyone?" Porco asks.

"Why would I care about that? If people get caught in it, it's because they're stupid."

Porco scowls. "That's called bad manners. If you have that great of magic as you brag, then isn't the least you can do to prevent as much damage to others?"

"But the more people die, the more their lives will be added to my power, you know? In this War, the Titans that kill more have the advantage."

Marcel has no idea what kind of an expression he has on his face. But Kruger bursts out laughing after peeking a look at Porco and Marcel.

"Hahaha! That was a joke!"

"But... that does make sense. If you can convert lives into magic, you would be able to-"

"Marcel! Stop that train of thought there," Porco says firmly. He glares at Kruger. "That's not a funny joke. People's lives are not playthings. The more powerful you are, the more important it is that you don't forget that."

Kruger sniggers. "My, what a noble mage! So if I were to start killing everyone within... let's say one hundred meter radius of me for simple math, then how do you plan on stopping me?"

"Y-you wouldn't do that! B-because... because Marcel bought you cake pops!" Porco declares.

Porco, please shut up.

"I would put up a seal to stop you from moving," Marcel says.

"Too slow. A seal of that magnitude to stop a Titan from moving would take at least three days to prepare, and that's on the assumption that you're a powerful mage. The people within one hundred meter radius of me would already all be dead by then."

"It would work if I'm willing to sacrifice a few things," Marcel counters. "Yes, the people within one hundred meter radius of you would all be dead. But you would no longer be able to move after those three days. That would mean one less Titan to worry about in this War."

Kruger grins like he's satisfied about something. He pats Marcel's shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. Marcel feels a sharp stabbing pain in his head. Then the pain is gone, and he sees an image of a seal that he has never seen before in his head. A seal...? As soon as he thinks more about it, his head is filled with information on how to set it up and how to use it. What the hell...?

"If it's my Master, he'd be able to whip that up in hours. But you'll probably need all three days. Think of it as my thank you for the cake pops. Good luck with your Titan hunting!"

Kruger waves them goodbye and takes his leave.

"M-Marce...?" Porco asks worriedly.

"That guy... he just gave me a seal that would work even on a Titan... What the hell?"

"T-then can't we use it against him?" Porco asks. He looks like he can't quite decide if this is good information or not. Haha. That's just like Porco. He's already taken a liking to Kruger, hasn't he?

Truth be told, what Porco said is correct. Marcel can use this seal against the Attack Titan right now. But there are two problems to that. The first is that Kruger was much too kind when he estimated how long it would take for Marcel to prepare it. Three days? For something that complicated? Just what kind of monsters have that much magic and preparation ready to go?

"It'll probably take about a week or so to prepare it," Marcel tells him. "And that's not even mentioning how long it'll take before it actually activates."

"Huh? Is it a dud?"

Marcel shakes his head. "It will work. At least the theory of it makes sense. And I'm not sure why, but I get the feeling it was used against that guy before... It just means we have more time than previous planned to get more information."

"Got it! Well, as long as you're here, Marcel, we'll be fine!"

The second problem is the cost of this magic.

The life of the person who casts the seal.

Kruger... That is, the Attack Titan is rather cruel, isn't he?


	31. Alliance of Survey Corps, Military Police, and the Garrison

Floch wasn't too sure what to expect, but isn't this a little too wild? The so-called terrifying Levi Ackerman is a midget and the Master representing the Military Police looks like a bimbo who only cares about her looks. He knows he doesn't have much room to talk when it comes to merits and talent, but aren't the three of them way too pathetic for Masters of such big named organizations?

"Pfft! To think we'd be united like this after so long! Hahaha! Armin, it's good to see you!" the Attack Titan greets the Colossal.

"I'd much rather be on your side than against," the Colossal tells him softly. Then he glances at the Female Titan. With a bit of an awkward nod, he manages, "Annie. I hope you've been well."

"I suppose your presence is more welcoming than a certain mad dog's," the Female Titan says.

They seem pretty friendly with one another. Is that what happens when you are constantly summoned to the battlefield to kill each other? You end up being friendly? That seems rather painful. But since Titans are beings of magic and don't necessarily die when they are killed during a War, it's different for them?

"Have you three known each other for long?" Survey Corps' Hange asks.

"The three of us knew each other since before the First War," the Attack says.

Since the First...? That's... That's a long time ago.

"You guys were headaches even back then," the Female recalls.

She doesn't seem all that upset despite her words.

"Ah, whatever did happen to that girl-"

It feels almost as if the air inside of the room has been sucked out. The sheer amount of magical pressure is frightening. Is this what happens when Titans fight? The air itself becomes tainted by their magic, becoming too dense to breath in?

"Hey you, stop that," Levi scolds his Titan.

"This one isn't me," the Attack Titan protests.

The Colossal Titan blushes and dips his head to down. "I-I'm sorry. But Annie, if you could please refrain from mentioning what happened back then, I would be rather grateful."

Floch had been under the impression that the Colossal was a calm guy with little to no triggers. But maybe that was too hasty of a judgement. A girl? Really? That's what gets him this angry? Well, for now, it looks like it's a taboo topic, so Floch will avoid it, too. But man, he is curious.

"I see everyone's gathered here," Erwin Smith of Survey Corps says with a charming smile. "The meeting room is prepared now, if you would please come this way."

*

The plan sounds simple enough. Before the attack even starts, they'll drop enough hints and spread rumors to prepare the Tyburs for their "raid." In a week's time, the Attack Titan will drop on the Tybur family mansion. Most likely, the Titan that will be defending the Tyburs will be the Cart, with the Warhammer playing support from afar.

"Since the Cart's unique in that even killing the Master won't stop it completely, we need to put it down first," Erwin explains. "I would like for the Female Titan to aid the Attack in taking the Cart down. Colossal, I was informed that you do not like to be part of fighting typically. So I would like for you to act as a shield for the two while they take care of the Cart. Would that suffice?"

The Colossal Titan just let out a soft sigh in relief. Is it that important to him that he doesn't fight? Floch doesn't understand. With that big of a build, couldn't he very easily win fights?

"Is everything alright, Master of the Colossal? You look dissatisfied about something," Nile Dawkes of the Military Police asks.

Urk. Now everyone's looking at Floch!

"T-there's no problem. I just... Hey Colossal, why is it that you don't like to fight so much?"

"If he doesn't want to fight, he doesn't want to fight. Why does he need a reason for that?" the Attack Titan asks, rolling his eyes as if this is obvious. He grins at Floch, looking quite like a cat toying with its prey. "Just let him die so someone else can win the War."

The Colossal's smile looks strained. "Eren, don't tease him. As for my reasoning... If a fight is unavoidable or if there's meaning to it, I will fight. However, the War is... I see no reason to fight for a wish."

"You don't think our wishes are worth fighting for?" Floch asks, feeling offended.

"My apologies, that was poorly phrased. It'll probably make more sense if I say it like... Wishes are things that require sacrifices. Yes, that's true. In order to accomplish any goals, you must make sacrifices. But when those sacrifices start being about killing others and staining the world with blood... A wish granted on a mountain of corpses can only bring about tragedy. That is all."

A tragedy... huh?

As someone who was more attracted to the thought of participating in the War rather than the wish, Floch hasn't really thought about it. Besides, on the off-chance that he does win, it will be expected that his wish be what the Garrison as a whole wants and not something that benefits him personally. Whether the conclusion of that wish ends in a tragedy or not isn't really something up to him to decide.

"Even if there's a mountain of corpses... even if it means the end of the world, some wishes are worth it," Erwin says.

Floch can't help but to find that kind of resolution cool.


	32. Hange's Titan Observation 8

"They're quite friendly, aren't they?" Moblit mentions when they spot the Colossal Titan and Eren together.

"I guess different Titans have different relationship with one another... Let's ask Erwin if he can make a treaty with all the other Masters so we can have them all talk to each other!" Hange suggests.

Moblit sighs. "You already know that's not going to work."

"Yeah, yeah. But I can't help but to wish for it. Can you imagine? It'll be like having a daycare for all the little Titans! How cute will that be?"

"I think you're the only one who finds that cute..."

"Still, I wonder how they know each other. And that girl that Annie mentioned... Oh!"

Moblit looks to Hange curiously. "Did you find a bug?"

"Levi's Dream Diary. He mentioned an oriental girl, didn't he? And a blonde boy?"

"Y-you think the blonde boy is the Colossal?"

"There's one way to be sure!" Hange decides.

*

It's just the four of them in the room: Hange, Moblit, Levi, and Eren. The Attack Titan seems to be more focused on the cream puffs Hange made sure Moblit picked up for this. Although Hange thought that the rest of Levi's Squad would ask to be here, it seems they're busy with the preparation for the upcoming raid.

"Eren, I wanted to ask about the Colossal Titan as well as this 'girl' that the Female Titan mentioned," Hange starts.

"That girl she mentioned is Oriental, correct? And she has a red scarf?" Levi asks.

"Yup," Eren nods. "That's her. I'm shocked that Armin was so mad, though. At least, I didn't think he'd be mad enough to lash out against Annie."

"Is it a big deal that he lashed out against her? Or maybe it's more of a big deal that he lashed out at all?" Hange asks.

"Both. Armin's a calm gentlemanly kind of guy. It's rare for him to snap, especially at a girl. I guess I just never thought it was that important to him."

Eren picks up the cream puff and bites into it. He beams at the taste. Hehe. He's cute as always. Hange is certain a daycare of all the Titans will be the cutest thing ever, if only because Eren will be there.

"Can you tell us about the first War? How did all of you meet up? And how are Titans born?" Hange continues.

There's a pause longer than Hange thought Eren would drag out. He doesn't seem like he's distracted by the cream puff, though. Is he trying to determine how to word his answer?

"Oh! I think this was bought in the bakery near the coffee shop I always go to. I recognize the faint smell of coffee," Eren says.

He was indeed distracted by the cream puff.

"Hey, did you even hear the question? Where do Titans come from?" Levi asks.

Eren points to the sky. "When a mommy Titan and a daddy Titan want a baby, they beg the Founding Titan, and it will be delivered to them via stork."

"A-amazing! So all of you were born via storks!" Hange exclaims.

"Pfft... Y-yup! That's how we... Hahahaha!"

Levi smacks Eren. "Take this seriously."

"Aw, come on. It's obvious where we come from! Obviously, we are Masters from previous Wars that were stupid enough to beg the Founding Titan to take us in."

Hange did consider that possibility. But she didn't think it would be so easily confirmed.

"What... does that mean?" Moblit asks.

Eren looks like he's going to change the topic, but Levi's cold glare seems to stop him in his track. With a soft sigh, Eren tells them.

"It's typically offered to Masters that died during the War. A chance to reclaim their pride of sorts, you know? I mean, in exchange, you become a slave that can only appear once every 300 years or so."

"Then how did the First War work? There couldn't have been any Titans then," Hange points out.

For just a second, Eren looks like he's a second away from leaving. Levi holds up the plate of cream puffs towards him as if to remind him that he can have all of it if he answers. Immediately, Eren straightens.

"Back then, King Fritz used to hold games to win his favor. If you were entertaining enough, he took you in as a Royal Mage. That eventually pissed off the mages that got their position by skill or nepotism. So they proposed a game. All those that wished to participate showed up in pairs. The one who provided magic, the 'Master,' and the one who would be physically fighting, the 'Titan.' Once it was down to the last seven pairs, it became a free-for-all where the winner would receive the King's blessing. That was the First War."

"Wait. King Fritz of which land? I don't recall such a name in the history books," Hange says.

Eren sniggers widely at that. "Good. That means I did my job right."

He doesn't say anything more on the topic, but Hange understands the implication loud and clear. The title "Traitorous Attack Titan" started back then, huh?

"I can't believe even a king would be wiped from history," Moblit mumbles.

Not really. Kings get forgotten all the time. What Hange is more interested in is the fact that all this information has been lost. Did absolutely no one in the previous Wars try to preserve this history?

"There's always someone who tries to. But whatever they record doesn't seem to get passed on. When I pop up for the next War, that information's gone again. It's a pain, to be honest. Why are you guys so bad at keeping information?"

Well, even if Eren asks them that, Hange can't speak for those in the past. Still, this is an interesting line of discussion to bring up to Erwin later.

The people charged with keeping the history is the Reiss Family. But that started a bit late in the game. They most definitely won't have information from the First War. 

"So how does the Founding Titan fit into all of this?" Levi asks.

Oh, that's a good point. Because of the mention of a forgotten king, Hange almost forgot the crucial part in all of this.

For just a second, Eren looks like he might have choked on the cream puff. They all wait patiently for him to collect himself.

"She was Fritz's favorite mage. I don't know if she was the strongest, but everyone said she was. Since it wasn't like the King was powerful, she granted your wish for you. That's all."


	33. Levi's Dream Diary 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The loud explosions all around are deafening. Levi personally doesn't think the brightly dyed colors of the sky is worth all this noise. But he doesn't deny the racing of his heart at the beautiful sight.

He thinks the blond boy by his side (Armin, he finds himself thinking. He now has a name for this boy) said something while laughing brightly. But the explosions make it impossible to hear anything.

*

How disgusting. His hands are covered in dirt and whatever else was on the ground. There's a small grave before him that he clearly put together with his bare hands.

Armin and the oriental girl (Levi should make a note to ask Eren for her name) stand on either side of him, both crying softly. He feels his own eyes threaten to water. But he won't. He won't.

He said he wouldn't, so he won't.

Tears are wasted on the dead.

*

"S-shut up! That's not it at all!"

Levi is caught off-guard that he can understand those words. It takes him a second to realize that it's because "he" said it.

The blonde man before him isn't Armin. It's someone more mature with a longer face. And now that Levi looks closer, his hair is bleached blonde with the roots a much darker color. His sense of dress is strange. But Levi thinks he might have seen clothing like that in a period drama Eld secretly watches in his free time.

The blonde man laughs and ruffles Levi's hair.

"Stop that! I'm older than you!"

Levi can't hear the blonde man's response, but he feels himself tensing in annoyance.

"You're so annoying, Jea-"

Eren's eyes are livid when he shakes Levi awake this time. He doesn't say anything. Just glares at Levi as if blaming him for something and then goes his way.

*

Red.

Everything is dripping red.

Levi doesn't smell anything, but he imagines that the air itself stinks with the scent of iron.

"Hey... stand up. You said... you said you'll stop me. You said you'll kill me! Reiner!"

No one answers him.

*

Someone is running their fingers through his hair while humming lightly. It's that strange lullaby that seems so familiar. Where did he hear that before? He doesn't think it's just a dream thing. He's certain that he's heard it elsewhere before.

He feels content and full.


	34. First Clash 1

It is 6:48 PM on a Thursday when the doorbell to the Tybur mansion rings. The butler opens the door and is greeted with a polite delivery boy.

"I apologize," the butler says, "but we did not order anything."

The Tybur mansion is in the outskirts, surrounded by a surprising amount of vegetation that it probably classifies as a forest. It is far away from the city enough that a battle happening here won't attract attention. But it is also much too far for there to be a mistaken delivery.

"This was sent by the Survey Corps," the delivery boy explains with a bright smile.

A person without any magic would describe it as a bomb going off. Half of the mansion crumbles from the sheer power that can only be described as an eruption. The entirety of the mansion is covered with smoke. With the stage set, the Attack Titan takes his Titan form.

It begins to destroy the rest of the mansion, killing any innocents that try to flee. Although its attention is distracted, it still manages to dodge the sudden silver spikes that bursts up from the ground. The Attack Titan next dodges a giant hammer that swings at its head.

Erwin's plan is wrong. But the Attack Titan doesn't have a good way to convey to the rest of the waiting team of the change. Unfortunately, it has no choice but to trust that the Female Titan would be able to feel the difference in magic to realize their target change. If it were to open communication with its Master, it might be able to...

The Attack Titan doesn't have long to think on that. The giant hammer of the Warhammer Titan comes swinging towards it again. Despite that size, there's no reduction in speed. On top of that, every swing blows away a good portion of the smoke that the Attack Titan has set up. But there is one silver lining.

Due to concentrating on keeping the Attack Titan and its smoke back by swinging that hammer, the Warhammer is no longer launching those spikes from the ground. That gives the Attack Titan a lot more freedom in terms of movement.

Exactly two minutes into the fight, the Female Titan throws an uprooted tree at the Warhammer.

And the Cart Titan makes itself known.


	35. Deceit 1

The receipt Marcel picked up led to a small supermarket in the corner of Marley territory. Lucky them, really. He abused his position as Magath's second to get information on a... potential terrorist.

"That little girl? Really? But she looks so frail... Man, I guess that just goes to show that looks are deceiving!"

Krista Lenz is the name that he is given. Such a person, no shock, does not exist in the registry of mages in the Marleyan territory. But she comes to the supermarket every two to three days, which means all they have to do is monitor the market until they see her. Then it's a stakeout at her place to figure out as much as they can about her.

She lives in an apartment complex with the Jaw Titan (assuming that Kruger is telling the truth, which Marcel realizes is kind of weird to do. But Kruger also gave the information for the seal so Marcel will chance it). It doesn't look like anyone else lives there with them. The lease on the apartment is out under her name, and the rent is paid monthly straight from her bank account. Marcel's still waiting to hear back on the conclusion of who actually holds that bank account or if it's a temporary fake one for the sake of her living situation. That and who she actually is. But that last one probably requires much thorough job than he can afford right now.

It appears that she doesn't have any job. The only times that she comes out of the apartment is to go shopping for groceries or to check her mail. So Marcel broke into her mail to see what she gets. Majority of it is junk mail. But there are a few without any note of sender that seems to be pretty important if the expression she makes after she looks at them means anything. But she still hasn't made any move that's atypical of her normal hermit life.

Since Magath is distracted with the upcoming raid (Without a doubt, it's a trap. But since they will be the ones on home turf, it should be to their advantage), Marcel is just going to poke around lightly.

He has zero plans on engaging a Titan, you know. Even he understands his own limits.

"Got that, Porco? We're just friendly missionaries who couldn't help but be concerned about her loneliness. We aren't here to start a fight. And we're especially not here to tip the fact that we are enemies in this War." Marcel hesitates. "Leave all the talking to me. Just... just stand there, okay?"

Porco rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I get it already. Let's go before the ice cream melts."

"Actually, I think it'll be for the best if you just stay here and keep watch instead."

"Oh, come on! You're always like this! I'm not a kid anymore. You don't need to hold my hand," Porco groans.

"I just think it'll be better if just one person approaches her. It would be too overwhelming, don't you think? If two men suddenly showed up to her place?"

The look on Porco's face accuses Marcel of being a worrywart. But can Porco really blame him? If Marcel didn't step in last time after Porco ate Kruger's cake pop, how was Porco going to handle a fight with a Titan? And at the very least, Marcel has that seal from Kruger ready to go if everything goes wrong, but Marcel bets that his brother doesn't even have a back up plan.

"So I'll go in alone and take care of this. You wait out here in case... in case I need back up!"

Porco rolls his eyes. "Yeah right. At least have the decency to not lie to my face."

That's fair. Marcel is being pettier than usual about this. But he can't help it. Porco isn't exactly smart nor does he have any form of common sense. Marcel can't help but to worry.

"Sorry. Next time, we'll do it together," Marcel says.

"I'll believe it when I see it. Ah, whatever. You have your half of the memory stone with you, right? I'll keep my eyes on it so don't do anything weird. C'mon, get going. The ice cream is going to melt."

It's not quite an approval, but Marcel will probably have to fight for that later.

With an apology, Marcel takes off.

*

Typically, a memory stone comes in a small size that can only be split into two. Those that hold either side of the same memory stone can share memories. A larger memory stone allows for splitting into multiple parts, which is useful to share information among a large group. But due to its rarity, very few mages can afford one so large.

As a memory stone runs on magic, in order to transmit, one must continuously pour magic into it. But it only requires a little, so it can also serve as a good training tool for younger mages first learning control. The mage on the other end must then pour magic into their own in order to receive, too.

Marcel and Porco got a memory stone when they were much younger. Back then, they used it for small pranks and keeping each other company when they were apart.

And now, they use it during missions to convey information.

Hopefully, this small amount of magic flowing won't be too obvious to a being like a Titan that is made out of magic.


	36. First Clash 2

They underestimated Marley and Tybur, Erwin realizes.

The strike can only be described as a condensement of magic into a ball form. It blasts a clear hole through the Attack Titan's stomach. Marley is known for their strict policies of following traditions and laws set forth by the previous generations. They would never be okay with using modern technology or weapon.

Then what the hell was that attack just now?

"It... looked kind of like the bullets we have," Hange admits lowly. "But to be able to blow that kind of a hole, not to mention that size... It would have to have been created from another Titan."

"Eren said it was impossible to create bullets like that from him," Levi reminds them.

"I don't think that was made from bullets. It was more likely a literal ball of magic. And that level of magic would have to be the Cart," Mike says.

"So they can say that they haven't broken any laws by using modern weapons, huh?" Erwin sighs. "Damn. That's much smarter than I gave them credit for. It can't be something one of the current heads came up with. They care too much about how they look to the public for something like that. A brilliant newcomer, huh? I wish I could've pulled that person to our side..."

Nile clears his throat to remind them that they're not alone. "I get that you're having fun talking, but we need a plan to deal with this first."

The Attack Titan has already healed the wound without any sign of slowing down from dodging the Warhammer's swings. As expected of Ackerman's magic. But Erwin doubts that Hitch or Floch would be able to support their respective Titans like that. That means as long as those blasts continue to rain down on them, they will be severely limited in what they can do.

"Colossal Titan, if you were to take that blast, how long would you be able to last?" Erwin asks.

There's a small tilt of the head before the Colossal answers with, "Assuming the same amount of magic, at least ten. But note that I would be a much easier target for the Cart to be aiming for."

Almost as if to emphasize his point, another blast flies towards the dueling Titans. But this one's aim is off by quite a lot (or maybe it's that the Titans have moved around too much?). It almost hits the Warhammer instead.

"He's moving well," Levi remarks, sounding rather proud.

At the very least, it looks like Eren will be able to hold the fort over here for a bit. That gives Erwin a little more time to think about the best possible course of action.

"The most important thing will be to take the Cart down. I suppose you aren't interested in helping us, correct, Colossal?"

"That's correct."

Shame.

Erwin turns to Hitch. "We're going to need the Female Titan's help. It'll be too obvious if she suddenly changes her target, so we'll pretend that she got hit. The next time a blast comes, make it look as if she was hit and then make her disappear from her Titan form. Then we'll-"

"That won't work," Nile interrupts.

"What do you mean?"

"If the Female Titan releases her Titan form now, she won't be able to return to it for at least a few days."

Hitch flinches and lowers her gaze. And the Military Police truly, honestly believes that they can win with her as the Master to represent them? Money sure is a terrifying thing.

"Why not do it with the Attack?" Pixis suggests.

Erwin shakes his head. "They've already seen that he can withstand the blow. If he disappears suddenly like that, the Warhammer would suspect something and rush to the Cart's side. The last thing we need is for the Attack to fight off both of them."

Not to mention Erwin doubts that the Female Titan would be able to handle the Warhammer on its own when its Master can't provide necessary magic.

"Mike, I'm going to need your help in leading the group. Hange, you stay here with the Masters. Make sure to dodge any blasts that seem like it's coming too close to you. I would like at least six different groups to search through the area where the blasts seem to have come from. Pixis, Nile, can you lend me your men?"

*

"It... honestly doesn't bother you?" Floch finds himself asking the Colossal Titan.

The others give them some space as if understanding that they need some privacy. But Floch won't be shocked if everyone is listening in. Their proximity is too close for people to not "accidentally" overhear.

"Even if you don't want to win, isn't the Attack Titan your friend? When your friend is fighting that desperately, why wouldn't you want to help out?"

The Colossal Titan smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "You mustn't use human terms to describe us, Master."

"So you're fine with Eren dying? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes. If I had a choice, I would rather he die than be known as a murderer."

"As long as you're a Titan in a War, you won't have a choice but to be a murderer," Floch reasons. "You don't think there's a single wish in the world that justifies killing?"

That pause of hesitation tells Floch everything. What a hypocrite, pretending to be noble when he has something he wants just as much.

"What's wrong with fighting for your wish, even if it ends in a tragedy? What's wrong with being seen as a murderer? What's wrong with-"

Floch's word is interrupted as another blast hits the Attack Titan square on the head. The Warhammer wastes no time to swing its hammer, but the Female gets in the way. As if understanding that it won't have a chance like this again, the Warhammer spears the Attack with multiple spikes from the ground. The Female is keeping the Warhammer occupied, but if the Cart takes another aim...

"Change of plans! My Squad, we're moving to support Eren!" Levi commands. "Hange, keep watch of the Masters here!"

The Levi Squad rushes off to help the Attack, but Floch can't imagine a single thing they can do to help it right now. No, the only thing that might be able to stop the Cart is...

"Are you okay with letting Eren die just like that?" Floch demands.

For the first time, the Colossal's calm finally breaks. "What do you want me to do about it? Even if I can locate where the Cart is, my Titan form is much too slow!"

"I'll send you there. That's what the Command Spell is for, isn't it?"

"If you use that now, you won't be able to use it for the rest of the War," the Colossal reminds him.

Floch snorts. "Even if I use it sparingly like that, you have no intention of fighting ever, right? So why not making yourself useful for just one fight?"

The Colossal surprises Floch by laughing. He doesn't say anything verbally, but he nods, letting Floch knows that it's okay.

"Then just for this one fight, do your best!"


	37. Deceit 2

"Good evening!" Marcel greets with a pleasant smile when the door opens.

Krista Lenz looks tired, but she doesn't outright slam the door. "Yes? What is it?"

"My, you're as beautiful as I heard you were. I'm just a humble neighbor, here to spread the good word of our gentle Goddess. One of our members of the church saw how you've been living and thought you might enjoy a small treat from us. Of course, you're under no obligations to our church or anything. But it would mean quite a lot to all of us if you would accept our goodwill."

She looks troubled. "I'm not interested. Please leave."

Immediate rejection, huh? Then again, it's not like Marcel doesn't know where she's coming from. If some random stranger came up to him while talking about a church, he'd also kick them out. Ah, he'll probably have to return whatever it is that Porco accepted from them first, too. His brother is dumb like that.

"That's perfectly reasonable," Marcel tells her without letting his smile slip. "But please do accept these. There's even ice cream in here."

She doesn't reject it right away. Instead, she hesitates. Good, good. That means he still has a chance.

"The Goddess Ymir teaches us to be giving and to be kind. It is the least we can do to-"

The Jaw Titan makes herself known by leaning over Krista to leer at Marcel.

"It's fine, isn't it, Krista? Let him in for a bit. I mean, he brought us all these goodies," the Titan says, her lips stretching into a sneer-like smirk.

Marcel gets a bad feeling about this. But that's exactly the reaction that he has been waiting for.

"I want to hear more about your Goddess," the Titan sniggers.

"It would be my pleasure to share the Goddess Ymir's teaching."

The Titan laughs at that, but Marcel isn't too sure why. He doesn't think he said anything funny, did he? Krista doesn't look like she's laughing either.

Odd.

*

"My name is Mark," Marcel lies easily.

"I'm Krista. And this is..." Krista lets out a sigh. "Her name is Ymir."

Ohhhhh. That's why she kept laughing, isn't it?

Marcel smiles sweetly. "How blessed! To be named after the Goddess herself! Your parents must have cherished you."

The grin on the Titan's face falls. Yeah, Marcel thought so. Being named after a holy figure is never a sign of sane parents. But Marcel is playing an overly religious person to lower their guards right now, so he'll just keep smiling innocently.

"I wouldn't know," the Jaw Titan says with a shrug that seems more bitter than casual. "Never knew my parents. But hey, we're not here to talk about me. Tell me more about this Goddess of yours. What kind of person is she?"

The way she grins makes Marcel thinks that she knew the Goddess. Actually, if their names are the same, then doesn't it stand to reason that she is actually the cause of the "Goddess Ymir" religion? Is that why she's so excited to hear about this? Let's see, what is it now that most religious people say about the Goddess? Uh... If he remembers right...

"The Goddess is generous and kind, always lending out help to those who need it the most. That is why all of our teachings focus on giving without asking for anything in return."

Not that anyone ever does that. If you're giving someone something, of course, it's because you want something in return. The people that follow Goddess Ymir's teachings is no different. Out of all the religions in Marley, this one is the most troublesome to deal with. After all, what are you going to say? Good-will and kind deeds are forbidden? Hah. Good luck enforcing that.

"If we see anyone in need or in trouble, it is only obvious that we will go and help. So if there's any issues at all, please feel free to ask me or any of the church members. And again, this isn't to pressure you into joining us. It's just letting you know of your resources available," Marcel concludes.

"Ehhhh? That sounds so nice," Ymir sniggers. "But isn't that kind of hypocritical? Help everyone in need? You're just going to end up burning out."

Marcel laughs and nods. "That's true. But that's why we're a community. When we can't go ourselves, we can ask someone else who can."

Her expression sours up again. What about this conversation is bothering her? And does he really want to keep pushing her on that point? The last thing he wants is for the Titan to lose its temper at him.

"Why do you follow her teachings?" Krista asks before Marcel can think of a new topic.

"Don't you find it wonderful? Too many of today is based on profits and the benefits you can get from others. But thanks to the Goddess, we can focus on the things that matter: the people that exist in this world with us."

Hah. Like hell a real church-goer would ever feel this way. Marcel has no illusions on what people who preach about kindness and persecute those who don't fit their predefined "acceptable" are really like. He has taken care of so many reports about this exact thing to not know.

"Hey, hey. If the Goddess you love so much turned up to be a shitty person, how would you feel?" the Jaw Titan asks, her grin looking more like a feral snarl.

Ah, damn it. She is the Goddess, isn't she? Marcel should've picked a different religion.

"The Goddess is wonderful and generous," Marcel says firmly.

Ymir doesn't look satisfied by that. "But you don't know that. You've never met her bef-"

"On the contrary, I have." This is, of course, just lip service. But it's something all the followers of the Goddess Ymir says, so it probably won't hurt for him to lay it on thick. "Her smile exists in every good deed. Her happiness is in the joy of those we have helped. Her radiance-"

To be honest, he's rather glad that she cut him off because he was running out of things to say. He gives her a pleasant but confused smile to pretend he doesn't understand why she's so angry. But he gets it, you know. Not in the "I used to be a Goddess" kind of way, but in the "people suck" kind of way.

"Shut up! I hate hollow words like those the most! What the hell do you know? Her smile? Her happiness? Since when did any of that matter? My worth was decided by how much donations I could drum up. Since when the hell did they care about any of that?"

"Y-Ymir, calm down," Krista whispers.

This is bad. The magic around the Jaw Titan is starting to get erratic. If Marcel stays here any longer, he will be dragged into a fight. He should evacuate.

"I-I think I should leave," Marcel says. He glances towards the door. He could just make it but-

"Don't be like that." The Jaw Titan's magic threatens to choke Marcel. "You walked in here knowing the potential dangers. We know you and your underlings have been watching us. So why don't I show you exactly what you wanted to see? Behold! This is the Goddess you so admire!"


	38. First Clash 3

Honestly, the idiots of the Military Police are such a pain to deal with. It's one thing to demand Levi's head, but to ask for the deaths of nearby Survey Corps and Garrison members as well? Kenny has no doubts that they'll most definitely betray him once the job is done. They're piling up way too much work without care of the cost for this to end any other way.

That's fine.

He already had Traute pull more than what they're owed from the Military Police's account as their "pre-payment" to get set up. In fact, he plans for them to collect and leave before the end of this battle. And to doubly make sure that they won't be hunted, he plans on cleaning up the Military Police. That way, all of their crimes will be erased, and they can all start over with billions in their banks. Everyone wins!

So he'll help out his favorite nephew just this once (Heh. His only nephew, that is), free of charge.

"Kill who?" his men ask, surprised.

"Anyone without the Survey Corps logo on their backs."

The stunned pause doesn't last for long. They burst out laughing and cheer.

"That's more like it! Backstab them now that we've taken their money!"

Kenny smirks. Traute did a great job in getting these guys together. They speak Kenny's language!

*

The Colossal Titan disappears from view, leaving its Master behind. Marlowe assumes it's the Command Spell at work. There are currently fifteen people here total, counting himself. It's been long enough since the battle started that Kenny the Ripper should have made his move by now. Except really, Marlowe? Is he seriously going to take a well-known homicidal maniac's words by attacking the people here? Can he really trust that man? Will it really turn out the way he wants?

"Hitch? You alright?"

That's his mistake.

He should have kept better eyes on her. Hitch's teeth are chattering as she desperately tries to hide her tremors. It's clear that she's struggling to keep herself from being noticed. But he should have noticed that anyways. She's pushing herself too much. That much is clear. It terrifies him what this can only mean for her.

"If you can't do it, just call the Female Titan back. Leave this to the Attack and the Survey Corps members," Marlowe blurts out.

"Shut up. Don't look down on me," she grits out.

Why is she always so stubborn about the stupidest of things? Does she not realize that she'll die if this continues? Even if they manage to survive past this fight, how does she plan on fighting the remaining Titans afterwards? There's no way for her to win. Surely, she's figured that out by now?

"Everyone's doing their best right now. I'm not going to be the weakest link."

She takes a deep breath. Even though she hasn't said anything yet, Marlowe gets a sinking feeling that she's about to use her Command Spell. Damn Floch for giving her the idea.

"W-wait, don't you think you're rushing it too much? There's no need for you to do anything right now. Look! The Attack Titan is getting help from his Master. So-"

"So I should just sit back and let everyone do all the work, right? Because that's all I'm good for? This probably means nothing to you, Marlowe. But even I have my pride," she says.

"W-wait, what are you going to do?"

Hitch still manages to grin like her usual snotty self despite how taxing it must be to even stand, let alone talk. "I have more than enough magic. So all I have to do is make sure that my Titan can get it."

*

"What was even the point of us coming?" Eld wonders aloud for the rest of the Levi Squad.

The Attack Titan has already healed its head and freed itself by breaking off the spikes. The spikes are still embedded in its body, but it still moves well enough to dodge any attacks coming his direction. If anyone needs help, it's probably the Female Titan. A swing from the Warhammer's hammer caught it by the shoulder and it still haven't been able to heal it. The stark difference between a capable Master and one lacking in magic becomes much too obvious.

"We're here to help. So you don't need to hold back," Levi informs the Attack Titan.

It glances in their direction for a second longer. Then it must have come to a conclusion because it reaches over and grabs them in its arms as the Warhammer's spikes erupts from the ground below them. The Attack Titan covers the area with thick smoke. When the Attack Titan releases them, it's in the forest. Due to the thick smoke, it is impossible to tell the location of the Warhammer or the Female.

"Got it," Levi says. "Lead them here."

The rest of his Squad members wait for him to explain.

"Eren said he'll keep releasing this smoke around this forest. It'll make it hard for the Warhammer to swing, so we should be able to provide support."

"Link between a Master and a Titan, huh?" Gunther mumbles.

"Fairly useful at a time like this," Petra says.

Levi motions for them to get in position.

"Yes sir!"

*

The Female Titan realizes that something has changed when its wounds start healing at an accelerated pace. It understands immediately that something must have happened to its Master. The most likely is that she was forced to pass on the position of Master to someone with better circuitry.

_"You sure have a soft spot for broken mages, huh?"_

Broken mages, huh?

But even broken mages have their pride. The Attack Titan who never suffered that kind of a setback would never understand.

Well, it's clear that the Female Titan and its Master won't be able to continue after this battle. So it might as well as go wild.

Why not just kill everyone here, friend or not? See what it's like to be a mad dog like the Attack for a change.


	39. Deceit 3

It occurs to Porco belatedly that this is probably the reason why Marcel left him outside.

Half of the apartment have been destroyed. People are yelling for help in the rubble of what remains. The Jaw Titan and its Master has long fled the scene.

But Porco finds himself rooted to this spot.

The memory stone is no longer working. He knows exactly what that means. Hell, he saw it for himself what happened through the memory stone. He knows. He knows.

So why can't he bring himself to accept it?

Marcel is the best out of all of them. Of everyone in the Marleyan territory, the best mage is Marcel, no competition. If even Marcel can't last five seconds against a Titan, then what does that make the rest of them?

He needs a plan.

But the person who comes up with plans is always Marcel. The person who comes up with back ups, the person who puts the plan together, the person who pulls the strings to make all the pieces line up...

All of that was Marcel.

Hey, what the hell is Porco supposed to do alone now? How the hell is he supposed to go forward? He doesn't understand. Marcel always has a back up plan. Always, always, always. He scolded Porco time and time again because of that. But in this situation, what exactly was Marcel's back up plan? Why did he cast that seal instead of defending himself or running away? So why?

This isn't making any sense.

*

He wonders why he came to this coffee shop. But before he knew it, he found himself here, glancing around and looking for someone that he already knows cannot be here.

"Oh, if I recall correctly, you're one of the Galliards... Urm... Porco, was it?"

It takes Porco a second to place this guy. That's right. They had a few classes together, didn't they? Marcel mentioned that if there's anyone suspicious enough to be a rouge Master, Zeke Jaeger is probably it. When Porco asked who that was, Marcel sighed and pointed Zeke out in their class. Marcel described Zeke as a suspiciously average and plain mage. Someone whose scores did not match their intellect. Someone who was most definitely playing the system to appear dumber than they were.

Porco didn't believe him at the time. How could he? Some random no-name would be the one who summons a Titan? By that logic, either of them could summon one!

If they had, would Marcel be by his side right now?

"Yeah. Didn't think I'd see you here. But then again, this place is pretty close to school," Porco manages out.

"It's unusual to see you without your brother. It took me a second," Zeke says with a pleasant smile. "Are you getting anything?"

Porco lets the first comment go. He doesn't want to talk about Marcel with a stranger. That's why he was hoping that guy would be here, even though it makes no sense since that guy should be fighting right now in the Tybur mansion area. And oh. Maybe that's why he came here to look for Kruger. Because he wanted to know more about that seal and why Kruger gave it to Marcel. Because Kruger must have known, right? That Marcel would be pushed into a corner until he had no choice but to use it?

"Just some cake pops. Maybe a drink."

Something bitter sounds good right now.

Zeke nods. "I see. I did hear that the cake pops here are delicious."

Whoever told him that was lying. They don't taste very good. But Kruger seems to like them and Marcel was paying, so Porco just...

"Hey, if you had to fight a Titan, what would you do? How would you go about it?"

Porco receives a sheepish look in response. There's absolutely nothing fake about that movement, but it serves to piss Porco off anyways.

"Unfortunately, I'm not very strong. So all I can do is run away."

Liar.

But then again, Zeke probably has his own situation. They all thought that Marcel would be the Master for Marley, so Marcel and Porco only joked about snatching the remaining Master positions. But it's occurring to Porco all over again that they should have just taken it. At least then Marcel would be remembered in history and not erased so easily like this.

"What about you?" Zeke asks.

He's asking for pleasantry's sake. There no real interest in those eyes of his. That's probably why Marcel took note of him, though. Because they're so similar in their kindness.

How suffocating.

"Even if I die, I'll kill it."

Now he has Zeke's attention, even though he doesn't want it anymore.

"W-wouldn't it be better to wait for Magath's help?" Zeke asks.

That's on the assumption that Magath survives the battle tonight. But that's probably not something Porco can just blurt out. He's supposed to be Magath's second now that Marcel is...

Marcel's back up plan was him, wasn't it?

"Don't take it so seriously. It's just a joke," Porco lies.

Zeke doesn't call him out on it. That's probably for the better. It's not like they're close.


	40. First Clash 4

The Cart Titan pauses to glance to the side. Seeing that, the Colossal Titan, still in its human form, steps out of the forest with its hands up in the air.

"I'm not fighting. You can relax," the Colossal Titan says.

"Isn't your Master upset about that?"

The Colossal smiles sheepishly. "Terribly upset. He even used his Command Spell to send me here. But he's such a rookie. He didn't think to command me to fight."

"Even if you're a pacifist, isn't that cruel? Your Master bowed his head and formed an alliance with others."

"I suppose that's how it appears. But the one that's cruel is the Masters. Even though I've said time and time again, they won't accept my reason for avoiding a fight. Self-centered, every single one of them."

The Cart laughs. "Seeing that they're all fighting for their wish to be granted, it makes sense that they'll be self-centered."

"Haha! That's true. I wonder if all of this is worth it. Killing all these people. Sacrificing so much every single War... All for a slim chance of having their with granted."

"Our job as Titans isn't to question that. It's to fight."

The Colossal Titan's smile seems sad. "Your mentality as a tool hasn't changed at all, has it, Pieck?"

"Even before my role as a Titan, this has always been my designation. Someone who lived a squishy and spoiled life would never understand that. Not you and definitely not Eren."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I don't understand at all. If I could, I would like to make it so that these Wars can't happen ever again. But it's precisely because we disagree that I was able to accomplish this."

A grimacing Magath is dragged out into the clearing by one of Survey Corps members. The Cart understands that any chance at victory has disappeared. It made a rookie mistake of lowering its guard in front of an enemy and allowed its Master to be taken hostage. Did such sweet talks from a "pacifist" lure it into a sense of security?

"If you take on your Titan form, you'll burn anyone else in the forest with my Master," the Cart says slowly.

The Colossal shrugs. "I have no plans on winning anyways. What does it matter whether I die or my Master does?"

"I have some time after my Master dies. What if I were to say that my sense of duty will propel me to kill the Attack Titan?" the Cart asks, testing the waters.

"I would call you a liar. After what happened last time, don't you have someone you need to take revenge on?"

The Cart Titan laughs as their surrounding ignites with a fiery explosion. It fires its magic at the Colossal, knowing that at this point blank of range, not even the Colossal will survive. But the Cart cannot die here. Not even in the fiery explosion. Not even after its Master has died.

For her Master from last War that she loved so dearly, the Cart runs to get revenge.


	41. Deceit 4

"That guy was casting something, wasn't he?" Krista asks worriedly when the two of them arrives in the safehouse prepared for them in advance for situations like this.

"I interrupted it," Ymir assures her.

Krista's brows furrow. "Are you sure? If it's a tracking magic-"

"I'm a Titan. I would feel it if I'm the target of a spell like that. It was probably to either try and defend himself or to get the message out to his friends. But I killed him before he casted it fully."

Krista calms down at that. "They're not going to chase us, right? We don't have to keep moving?"

Ymir confirms that no one is chasing them. With a sigh of relief, Krista sits down on the couch.

"Still, I didn't think someone would disguise themselves as a religious person... Goddess Ymir, huh?" Krista giggles. "I can totally see that! You're tall and pretty, so I bet everyone fell over themselves for you!"

No one fell over themselves for her. No one ever thought once that she was pretty. No, no. It was always "You're so plain. It's a shame magic can't make you prettier." After a while, she came to hate the face that looked back in the mirror.

_"Part of your duty as a Goddess is to summon a Titan and win this War!"_

_"The wish? Obviously, you'll be making it in the name of the church."_

_"You're not a Goddess! You're a witch! A wicked witch that seduced us into sin!"_

Ymir finds her lips twitch. "Yup. They fell all over me. It was such a pain."

Krista squeals in excitement and leans towards Ymir, grinning in anticipation. Ymir doesn't have the heart to change her mind about her lie now. But to keep going with this lie sounds tiring, even if it's for Krista's sake. It'll be safer to change the topic.

"Hey, uh... I'm... I'm really sorry about what happened back there. If it wasn't for me, things wouldn't have escalated like that. A-and... you had some important things back there, right? You er... probably can't go back."

"It's fine! It's fine! Don't worry about that. The only thing important to remember to grab was this."

Krista pulls out a family picture and shows Ymir proudly. The family that Krista so desperately wants to be a part of, huh? Jeesh, what a huge family. Are those all the children of those two couple? They have that many but couldn't keep Krista? That sounds fishy as hell.

"Oh! No, no, no. It's not like that at all!" Krista says, laughing. "I'm a bastard child. Dad cheated on his wife with my mom. So there was no way for me to be part of the family to begin with. But if I can win this War, I will be welcomed!"

_"So as long as I pretend to be a goddess, I will be clothed and given food?"_

_"That's right, that's right! All you have to do is say and do exactly as we tell you. And you'll have everything you've ever dreamed of!"_

Ymir hates how much of her younger self she sees in Krista right now. And? Is that promise even true? "Welcomed?" Into a family that she has never been part of, never even met before? Into a family that shunned her in the first place? Is that... really the best? After fighting with her life on the line, would that family really make her happy?

"This... is something the Colossal Titan used to say a lot. The wishes granted by the Founding Titan are stacked upon the corpses that we kill. A wish made on that many dead... it's... It can't end happily."

Krista's expression goes blank. Ah, damn it. Ymir shouldn't have said anything at all. Now things are awkward.

"Sorry. It's not my place to-"

"I... don't know what else I'm supposed to want."

And what the hell is Ymir supposed to say to that?

With a bit more of a bitter look than usual, Krista says, "It was lonely on the farm. There were other people there, of course. But it was always so lonely. No one talked to me. Everyone did their duty without ever once glancing at me. So when they said that I could have a family, all I had to do was win this War, I agreed without a second thought! Because that means that I won't be lonely anymore, right? Because I'll have a family, and families are supposed to love each other, no matter what!"

Ymir doesn't know what she's supposed to say. In this kind of unfair situation, what can she possibly say? Take back everything and pretend that everything will be okay? How can she do that after pushing Krista this far? So what then? Should she keep pushing Krista until she snaps? Is that even fair? Once the War is over, Ymir won't be here to back her up anymore. In this situation, what can Ymir possibly offer her?

Isn't it better to let Krista believe that she'll at least have a family at the end of this?

"Your name isn't Krista Lenz, is it?" Ymir finds herself saying instead.

"And your name isn't Ymir," comes the response.

"We're both idiots who were lured into the idea of not being alone anymore."

Krista laughs. "Were you the same as me?"

"Yeah. Exactly the same. I played the role of a Goddess in hopes that I won't be alone anymore. That I will be useful and needed by others around me. But in the end, all I could do was lose and become a pathetic creature known as a Titan."

"... You become one?"

"It's offered to a Master of a War. A chance to become a monster made of magic. And in return, whoever was your Titan disappears and you take that place."

The Jaw Titan before her was a cruel person. He was tired of the bloodshed and wanted release. So he chose to die for good by sacrificing Ymir. Then again, even if she phrases it that badly, it is her fault for falling for such a simple trick. But at that time, she honestly believed there was nothing she could do to protect herself from the angry church people that turned on her.

"So if I were to-"

Ymir shakes her head. "Please don't. This hell is not something I would ever wish on someone else."

The two fall into an uncomfortable silence. Then Krista suddenly stands up.

"Okay! I've decided then!" She points at Ymir with a victorious grin. "What about this? When I win this War, I'll wish for you to be a normal human with me!"

"W-what about your family?"

Krista laughs. "Fuck them! They never wanted me anyways! If they want me after I win the War, it's too obvious that it'll be because they want their wish granted. So before that, I'll make a wish for the two of us to be happy forever!"

For the two of them...

Ymir finds herself laughing along despite everything.

"Yeah! Let's be happy together! Fuck the world! They never cared about us anyways!"

"Ymir, my name is Historia Reiss."

If only she also had a name to give in return... But that's not a regret that she's going to have. This is a good enough name anyways.

"I'm fine with the name Ymir."

Kris... Historia shakes her head. "Nope. Not good enough! I want your real name!"

"It can't be helped. I never had one before I was told to play this role."

"Then..." Historia grins and steps in until they're almost chest to chest. "Once we win this War, let's see if we can get you a name that's just you."

Ymir's heart races, and she grins in an echo of Historia's own.

How terrifying.

For the first time since she was born, Ymir is looking forward to something.


	42. First Clash 5

The Attack Titan suddenly moves away from the Warhammer Titan.

That's the only warning Levi has before what he assumes is the Cart Titan jumps straight for the Warhammer. The Cart looks to be heavily injured. It's covered in a lot of smoke with blood pooling on the ground where it stands. Levi can't imagine the Colossal Titan fighting. So Erwin managed to injure a Titan to this degree? And he dares to call Levi the monster?

Still, this is rather surprising that the Cart would attack the Warhammer. So much for their alliance.

As soon as the thought occurs to him, Levi realizes that they haven't seen the Female Titan in a while. In fact, where are his Squad members?

It... can't be, right?

"Eren! Find the Female!"

*

Petra bemoaned earlier that today's mission will be on the day she normally calls home. To make up for it, she's going to call tomorrow and tell them as much as she is allowed about her mission. Levi is of the opinion that it would be fine for her to say whatever she wants without censoring. But Erwin is surprisingly strict about things like these.

Gunter mentioned he wanted to take Eren out to other coffee shops. He cited the lack of items on the menu of the coffee shop that Eren likes as excuse, but everyone knows he just wants an excuse to visit that person he's been texting crazy. One of these days, they should ask him to introduce the rest of the team to that person.

Eld didn't say anything to that effect, but everyone assumes he'll be unavailable for a good portion of tomorrow morning and afternoon so he can catch up on his period dramas. It should be fine. They have three days to prepare to switch targets, so a few hours lost to drama watching should be more than fine, since Erwin probably already have plans to deal with the next targets.

Oluo said he found some interesting cleaning supplies that they should try on their day off. He looked really smug about something, so Levi has no doubts that this is probably one of those non-magical products. Those whose generation numbers are lower tend to be strangely attached to things like that.

They all have something they're looking forward to.

They all have...

*

Levi is not a stranger to losing someone.

Everyone dies. And joining a group like the Survey Corps during a War will most definitely shorten your life span. They all knew that going in.

Yes, it's painful. But this isn't anything that he didn't prepare himself to face.

It's not just his Squad members. The corpses here bear the uniforms of all three groups. And over the bloodied forest of corpses, the Female Titan crushes yet another under its feet.

It's painful.

The feeling of red hot rage threatens to consume him. There's a thick lump in his throat that won't go down. What the hell? Why does he feel like this? He was prepared for something like this. This isn't the first time he lost someone. This...

Is this Eren's feelings?

As if to confirm his question, he hears the wild roar before the Attack Titan tackles the Female to the ground.


	43. First Clash Conclusion

Official Report by the Reiss Family:

At 7 pm on Thursday night, the Attack Titan appeared in the Tybur Family mansion and began its massacre. It killed the Colossal, Cart, Warhammer, and Female. Their respective Masters can no longer participate in the War.

*

Floch Forster wakes up in a gurney, confused and disoriented. It's late at night. The night sky can be seen through the leaves of the trees overhead. He's just one of many in this field hospital. The last thing he recalls was a bunch of Military Police members trying to kill them. Were they stopped? He can't recall.

Slowly, he sits up.

Everything hurts and aches, but that means he doesn't have a single serious wound. How lucky.

"You should rest a bit more," comes the warm words.

Floch glances over at Erwin Smith who is approaching with a charming smile. Erwin is being supported by one of his men. It's clear that the blast from the Colossal Titan caught him. Is he coming here to get revenge? Is that what this is? Floch prepares himself for a lecture.

"Thank you for sending your Titan in. It really helped us," Erwin says.

Then he continues his walk with his helper by his side.

Floch stares at their receding backs for a while longer.

*

Kenny laughs as the last of the Military Police members that was part of the deal is silenced.

"I keep telling you guys that you don't have to help me with this," he says lightly to his crew.

They echo his laughter. "Oh, come off it! Like hell we'll let you have all the fun by yourself!"

"Your crimes have all been wiped free. You have more than enough money in your banks. You can do whatever you want!" Kenny reminds them with a knowing grin.

"And we choose to be here."

What is this strange feeling of satisfaction in his chest? Is this what people call affection? Heh. It's not too bad of a feeling.

"Where shall we go for a bit of a vacation then?" Kenny asks them.

"You're not going to stay to help your nephew?" comes the question.

Kenny clicks his tongue and shakes his head at them. "Can't give too many freebies. He'll end up too spoiled!"

Besides, as an Ackerman, it's clear that Levi will win this silly "War" thing. That's just how well Kenny raised that idiot nephew of his.

*

It's so quiet here.

No one scolds him when he messes up with cooking while saying selfish things like "You're going to poison everyone if you put in that much sugar!"

No one jokingly clicks their tongue and ruffles his hair while saying, "You missed a spot. Levi's going to flip when he sees how dirty it still is! Shall I help you?"

No one to exasperatedly sigh at him while reminding him, "These sweets are coming out of my paycheck, you know! Take it easy!"

No one laughs while patting him on the back and saying, "See? Look how awesome you look because you left it to me! Man, I should've become a designer!"

No one to...

*

Levi gently touches his hair.

"Eren, have you gotten any rest since?"

The Attack Titan tilts his head to the side. "You haven't rested either."

"I'm used to soldiering on. Until the objective is completed, rest is secondary," Levi says as he sits down next to the Attack Titan on the floor.

"Don't sit down. You're going to get your uniform dirty."

Levi snorts. "You're the last person I want to hear that kind of things from... So what are you doing, looking all so depressed for? Weren't you going on about killing them?"

"No one's around to feed me sweets," comes the childish remark.

For just a second, Levi considers not pushing the topic. A Titan does not feel as a human does. That's something that various different people and Titans have all said. But...

When the Attack Titan was facing against the Female, that rage that consumed Levi was most definitely not his own. And if Levi starts considering the dreams that he's been having...

"You know, it's fine to mourn people's passing. It won't make you less of a monster."

Eren gives Levi an annoyed look. "What the hell does that even mean? Do you want me to cry and whine? They're dead. Me 'mourning' isn't going to bring them back. I was planning on killing them anyways, so it's just one less thing for me to do."

Levi reaches over and pinches Eren's cheek.

"Dishonest kids aren't cute," Levi warns. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone, even if you cry."

"I-I'm not going to cry! Shut up! Tears are wasted on the dead anyways!" Eren snaps.

"On the dead, yes. You're absolutely correct. Tears won't bring back the dead. It won't comfort them either. They're dead. Tears are for the living."

"I'm not alive. I'm a Titan, remember?"

Levi rolls his eyes and lightly smacks the back of Eren's head. "As long as I am your Master, you're alive."

Eren doesn't seem to have a smartass comeback to that. He sits there quietly, probably mulling over what Levi told him. Levi figures it'll be fine and lets the silence lengthen.


	44. Levi's Dream Diary 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

The only reason he hears laughter is because he is laughing.

Armin sighs and shakes his head, but he's clearly amused. The oriental girl hides her smile with her red scarf.

The three of them look as close as always.

*

It's the mature blonde from last time. He rolls his eyes and says something that makes Levi feel annoyed.

"If you think it's that easy, do it yourself, Jean."

The blonde, now identified with a name, scowls and says something that Levi cannot hear. From the mannerism, it's clear that this "Jean" is scolding Levi.

What an annoying guy.

*

Levi recognizes that blonde girl. It's the Female Titan. Annie.

She's talking with Armin as the two of them walk under the falling leaves of autumn. The two of them look cosy together.

"Together again? Isn't she the General's daughter? That man won't approve."

It's possible that someone said something in response. But Levi can't hear it.

Suddenly, he turns towards the oriental girl that he hasn't realized was by his side (He doesn't know why he feels so surprised by the sight. This girl is always by Eren's side in these dreams). He feels his lips curve into a villain-like grin.

"Then why don't we change their future? In fact, let's change all of our futures! Let's go join the King's War Game!"

The oriental girl's brows furrow in worry. She says something that Levi cannot hear. It was probably words of worry and concern, because Levi finds himself rolling his eyes.

"Eh? What's with that? If we team up, no one will be able to beat us! Just trust me on this, Mikasa!"

*

It's that lullaby again.

He's on a hill with the wind blowing through his hair. Does this place never rain? Levi doesn't recall a single dream on this hill that wasn't a pleasant day such as this.

No one else is here with him for once. It's just him, humming that achingly familiar lullaby. Where has he heard this before? Eren doesn't hum this outside of dreams. And asking around if others have heard of this always leads him to shrugs and no's.

But he's certain he has heard it before. Some time in a long ago past.

*

The only reason he hears laughter is because he is laughing.

He imagines that the room he is in stinks of iron that follows when there's that much blood. And perhaps it's because he saw so many dead bodies recently, he can't help but to notice that the bodies this time are much smaller.

Like they're bodies of children.

Eren's laugh sounds like he's crying.


	45. Post-Fight: Survey Corps and Military Police

"It's been bothering me," Erwin tells Nile.

He holds his bandaged hand out between them and shows Nile the spark of magic that shouldn't be there. Although the magic is clearly what Erwin wants to show Nile, Nile can't help but to focus on the bandages wrapped around his friend instead. So burn wounds from a Titan's magic cannot be easily healed. Is it because of the higher density in magic that a Titan holds?

"The one who attacked your Female Titan was my Attack Titan. The one who broke the Mage's Vow is therefore me. So why is that I still have my magic?"

Nile is aware that Erwin is more than smart enough to figure out the answer to that. What his friend is asking right now isn't confirmation. Erwin is checking Nile's loyalty. To be honest, Nile doesn't even blame him. If the situation was switched, Nile wouldn't even allow Erwin to explain himself like this. He wonders if that makes his friend stupidly kind.

"I do not have my magic anymore," Nile says.

He hasn't had it since two days after they took on the Mage's Vow. But now that the Military Police can no longer participate in the War, he no longer has a reason to keep it a secret.

"I will come clean with it," Nile promises. "Stepping down from my position is only obvious, too. The Military Police should be ran by someone who won't break their Mage's Vow."

Erwin chuckles. "That's just like you, Nile. But we both already know that it wasn't you that caused the Vow to break. If anything, the blame falls on those who mysteriously died last night, doesn't it? If you were to leave the Military Police now, it will collapse as an organization. With Marley in disarray as it is, let's not force another group to disappear."

It must be because they've been friends for such a long time that Nile understands immediately what Erwin wants.

"Do you plan to use us for the War?"

"You know me too well," Erwin says with a light smile. "Don't worry. It'll only be for things like intel and extra manpower. You guys are done with the War. I acknowledge that and will not force anyone who doesn't want to play a role to keep going."

Nile has no doubts that Erwin has other plans. But it's not like he has any right to call his friend out on it when he's the one without his magic.

Unless...

"Erwin, did you know that the Military Police will go behind my back and break our Mage's Vow?"

The look of shock and hurt is more than enough for Nile to reassure himself of his friend's humanity. Nile breaths out slowly.

"Sorry. I guess the situation made me tenser than I realized. The Military Police will support you and your goals."

*

This Military Police brat is a lot more ballsy than Levi gave him credit for. He reaches out and grabs Eren's wrist before Levi can stop it.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" comes the demand that Levi finds beyond rude.

"Who are you?" Eren asks the Military Police kid with a confused frown.

The Military Police kid finally seems to realize how rude that was. He quickly releases Eren and straightens. Then and only then does he finally show Levi some respect before returning his attention back to Eren.

"You could have very easily have told me that the Command Spell could fix Hitch's magic circuits."

Oh. It's the kid that was always with the Military Police's Master. What was it now? Marlowe?

"What obligation does my Titan have with you that he would have to tell you that?" Levi asks.

Marlowe's face flushes in embarrassment as if realizing that for the first time. How very Military Police-like of this guy. Didn't even consider how selfish his requests was until it was pointed out.

"I-I apologize for speaking so rudely," Marlowe says. "It's clear that I've overstepped my bounds. Please excuse me."

He salutes Levi and turns to leave. Eren watches him take two steps before he finally speaks up.

"I didn't think it was possible. Most Masters save their Command Spell for as long as they can, so I haven't really seen it in action. If anything, you should thank the Founding Titan for allowing it."

Marlowe pauses in his steps and turns back around. "H-how do I thank the Founding Titan?"

The Attack Titan's lips pull into a frown as he tilts his head to the side. Figures. He has no idea, huh?

"Just make a shrine or something and pray to it," Levi suggests.

"Will that work?" Marlowe asks, looking uncertain.

Jeesh, this guy is so demanding.

"One way to find out."


	46. Hange's Titan Observation 9

"When did that happen?" Hange wonders as she motions at Levi and Eren.

The two are flipping through the takeout menu together, lightly arguing over which dish to get for lunch.

"Five minutes ago," Moblit informs her. "Eren kept picking desserts, so Levi took over deciding for him. Eren... doesn't seem to like anything that Levi chose, though."

While she was also wondering about that, Hange meant more about when the two of them started to banter friendly like that. Sure, Eren often follows Levi around, but that's more in fear of Levi striking him again. But right now, the two of them look a little like an older brother rebuking his younger one. They weren't this close even a day ago... were they?

"Listen, you shitty brat. You use my magic to eat anyways, so you're going to eat what I order you," Levi snaps.

"I don't need to eat anyways! If I can't eat what I want, then I don't want anything at all!" Eren protests.

Maybe this is what happens when you face against a Titan together?

"Eren, forget about Levi! Next time, let's fight together without him! Then we'll be that close!" Hange shouts as she rushes over to join them.

Moblit lets out a long sigh.

*

"Yup. In pitch perfect health as always!" Hange says, shaking her head. "Jeesh, Levi. Go break your arm or something so I have something to do."

"Don't wish ill on him!" Moblit scolds her.

Tch. No sense of humor at all, this guy.

"Oh, by the way, Levi, have you asked Eren more about the dreams that you've had? Are we any closer to unmasking his history?"

Levi nods and then pauses. "Well, he didn't say it himself. But I'm starting to put some things together. So it's possible that I'm wrong."

"Let's hear them."

"First off, I learned the name of the oriental girl. It's Mikasa. She, Armin, and Eren decided to participate in the King Fritz's initial War in part because of Annie and Armin."

Hange blinks. "Huh? What?"

"It sounded like something out of a drama piece. Annie was the daughter of some General or other. And to let her and Armin be together? Something like that, Eren decided to join in the War. It seemed like it ended up in a real bloodbath, though. What I'm uncertain of is how that First War ended up stretching into a long event that occurs every 300 years."

In order to help his friend get together with a girl? That's a much softer image of Eren than she had. She knew he was a cute kid. But isn't this way too adorable?

"And in the last War-"

"Wait, what about all the other Wars?" Hange asks.

Levi shrugs. "No clue. But the last War is probably the one that hit Eren the most. His Master betrayed him. It wasn't because the others had a great alliance that they brought him down. Eren's Master casted a seal to stop him from moving in the middle of that fight."

"What would cause a Master to turn on his own Titan?" Moblit wonders.

No, no. That's not the important question. Just now, Levi said something terrifying.

"What do you mean a seal that can stop a Titan?" Hange demands.

"I've seen bits and pieces of it, but I can't get any real information. Even if it was just a little bit, if I could've seen it, I would be able to recreate it. But for the memory to be this scarce... It's almost like aside from being on the receiving end of it, Eren forgot about the seal."

Hange taps her chin. "If we could have something like that, stopping the other Titans would be easy."

"But isn't that too weird? If he has something that powerful prepared, why didn't he use it on the other Titans to win the War? Why did he aim it at his own Titan?" Moblit points out.

None of them can come up with a good enough reason to explain it.


	47. Post-Fight: Survey Corps and the Garrison

"Pfft! Hahahaha! It seems I've been completely defeated!" Pixis laughs.

Floch bows in apology. "I'm very sorry for my incompetence. I should have discussed my plans with everyone before selfishly deciding on a course of action."

"Well, I'm the one who decided to make you the Master. If anyone is at 'fault,' it would be me. Hahah! It's fine, Floch. You did as I asked of you to. I have no regrets, so you shouldn't either."

But that doesn't address Floch's request.

"I-I know... I'll be seen as a traitor or as a glory-seeker, and most definitely selfish. But... I would really appreciate if you would seriously consider my transfer."

Was that too forward? But every second he wastes is a second that could have been used to prepare for the next battle. This is probably presumptuous of him. This is probably-

"Oh, I've already approved of it," Pixis says with another laugh. He unscrews the cap of his flask and takes a drink. "You only live once, after all. And the War only happens once on a blue moon. If you don't take full advantage of your youth now, it'll be a waste!"

Gratitude wells up in Floch's chest. "T-thank you, sir! Thank you!"

"But just because I've okayed it doesn't mean that Erwin will accept it, you know," Pixis remind him.

Floch nods. Of course. That makes perfect sense. To be honest, it'll be kind of weird if Erwin accepted Floch's request without a fuss. Not to mention, Floch was the Mater of an opposing side, even if they did work together and-

"So I made sure to remind Erwin that he owes me for abusing my good will! Hahaha!"

Wouldn't that make Erwin hate Floch?!

"Even after seeing the battle up close, you don't feel afraid?" Pixis asks.

There's a sharp look in his eyes that makes Floch think that he's being judged. But that's just fine. Floch knew this would be the norm when he first decided on this transfer.

"I am terrified out of my mind, sir," Floch tells him honestly. "But I saw for myself that even a useless and average person like me could make a difference on the battlefield. But more importantly, I'm curious. What is the wish that Erwin Smith wants granted? Is that wish of his worth the burn wounds on himself? What future does he see at the end of this?"

Pixis stares at his flask with a soft smile. "The future, huh? Alright. I've decided. We of the Garrison will back the Survey Corps and their Attack Titan."

*

Erwin stares blankly at the Garrison members that have gathered in their headquarter. Then his lips quirk into a smile.

"I will give you all one last chance to back out of this," he decides to say. "I have full intention of winning this War, even if it means sacrificing every single one of you. Even knowing that, will you contribute to the Survey Corps' cause?"

"We would have died either way, fighting for our cause. Now that we've lost, why not join you?" Pixis asks, laughing.

"That makes us sounds like we're only in it for the glory," Anka complains.

"Nothing wrong with that! Now, Erwin, why don't you stop keeping it a secret and tell us what the Survey Corps' wish will be?"

Realization dawns on Erwin. He smiles without giving away his thoughts.

"Our wish is simple. We will rid the world of the generation circuitry. So that all mages will be equal."

"Get rid of...?" Pixis laughs. "I'm shocked the Military Police went along with something like that!"

"Because getting rid of it would mean that a mage with a situation like Hitch Dreyse's would never occur again. All mages' abilities should be judged on how well they can manipulate their magic and not by how much magic they hold or for how long their families have been mages."

Pixis looks thoughtful at that. "And I'm sure you already have a plan on how to get the older mage families to accept that. But before that, what's the plan for winning this War?"

"Since we wiped out all the known Masters in one go, we're going to have to be careful with our movements. But this also means that all we have to do is fortify defenses here and wait for them to come to us."


	48. Chance Encounter: Falco and Eren

"Ah! You're here today!"

Falco grins at the sight of Kruger with his sweet drink at the coffee shop.

"I was worried, you know! There was a lot of... erm... dangerous things that happened." Falco makes sure to censor himself so he doesn't accidentally say something vital in front of everyone. "You are okay, right?"

Marcel said some really scary things to Falco the other day after Kruger left. He said that there's a possibility that Kruger might be an enemy Titan. But... Titans are monsters. And Kruger is most definitely not a monster, even if he has a ridiculous amount of magic. He's not a mindless killing tool like Titans are supposed to be. Yeah, Marcel's probably stressed from all the work that he has to do. He's seeing things that aren't there.

"I'm fine. Thank you. Are you okay as well?"

"Y-yes! I'm fine as well."

Kruger's smile is kind. Falco finds himself relaxing at the sight. See? There's no way that Kruger can be a murderous Titan!

"Oh, give me a second," Kruger says.

Falco watches as Kruger approaches the counter despite having a drink. After a bit of a talk, Kruger receives two cake pops and pays for them. Then he returns and offers one to Falco.

"I've grown quite fond of these," is Kruger's sheepish words with his kind smile.

Falco accepts it, blushing. He feels even more guilty that he had been suspicious of such a kind person. Marcel's typically very smart, but he is really stressed. Kruger can't be a bad person. Marcel just said that to remind Falco to be more wary of his surroundings.

"T-thank you!"

Kruger ruffles Falco's hair. "You keep safe, okay?"

Then he takes his leave.

For once, there's a shorter man waiting for Kruger. It takes Falco a second to place this other man. But isn't that the Survey Corps...?

His ringtone snaps him out of his thought. It looks like his brother is calling. That's funny. Did something happen? Colt was called early in the morning after the giant fight that Magath was supposed to be part of. There's no way that something bad happened, right?

"Hello?"

"Falco, listen carefully. The Commander is dead."


	49. Post-Fight: Gabi's resolve

Gabi opens her mouth and then shuts it close, unsure of what she's supposed to say.

Commander Magath is dead.

The Galliard brothers are missing after a "gas leak" at an apartment complex, but evidence thus far points to both being dead.

The higher ups of Marley are in disarray, trying to figure out what happened and why, while keeping this a secret from the masses. Calvi is still around, but no one trusts him enough to lead without someone watching over his shoulder. Gabi imagines that Falco's older brother, Colt, is currently crying somewhere from the sheer amount of stress piled upon him by the sudden death and disappearances, which forced him to suddenly assume responsibility of a good portion of Marley.

A small part of her thinks that she should have seen this coming.

As a Master in this War, she would have eventually come against Magath. She didn't really want to think about it. So she pushed it off with a simple "later."

And now this "later" will never come.

It's a good thing. It really is. She doesn't have to worry about the Commander's reaction to finding out that she went behind everyone's backs to summon a Titan. She doesn't have to come up with a plan to defeat Magath and the rest of the Marleyan might. But that doesn't change the fact that the people she knew are dead (or highly suspected to be dead).

This War isn't a game.

But it did get easier for her to continue to fight.

"T-thanks for coming to tell me," she manages out.

Falco nods. "I figured you don't really have a way to keep track of everything that's happening."

He doesn't mention that it's because her family is heavily looked down upon by the mages of Marley. Although she is glad that he hasn't poke fun at it, it does bother her. Did he purposefully leave that out in hopes of making her feel better? Is he also making rounds like this for everyone else? Or just her because, of course, a Braun wouldn't get the widely accessible information that everyone else can get so easily.

This guy's faux kindness always, always, always pisses her off.

"Gabi, about tonight's dinner..." the Armored Titan pauses when he spots that Gabi has a guest. "I'll ask later."

"Who's this?" Falco asks.

"My uncle. He's visiting," Gabi says, relying on the excuse they've already come up with.

"Hello," the Armored says with a small smile.

Falco stares at him for a bit longer before smiling back. "Nice to meet you. I'm Falco. Gabi didn't mention having someone over, so I'm sorry for any rudeness on my part."

"No, no. I interrupted," the Armored says.

If Gabi doesn't stop them, they're just going to go back and forth and apologize, aren't they? Ugh. Why the hell do both of them have to be like this for?

"Falco was just leaving," Gabi announces.

"You don't have to kick him out on my account," the Armored rushes to say.

Yeah, it's not for him. Gabi is tired of the two of them.

"It's fine. I should be heading out anyways. I need to deliver my brother's lunch and get him to take a break from everything."

Falco stands and finally takes his leave. Gabi lets out a breath of relief.

The Armored glances at her curiously. "Do you not like him?"

"He's suffocating. Well, that's not important. What about dinner tonight?"

For just a second, it looks like the Armored Titan might say something more. But then he must have changed his mind. He nods and follows Gabi's lead to talk about dinner.


	50. Chance Encounter: Zeke and Eren

"That's a dangerous spell you're preparing."

Zeke startles at the voice. He turns around to face the beautiful mage who frequents the coffee shop a few blocks away. In order to not get found by this person, Zeke purposefully chose a location away from the shop. But it seems that he was found anyways.

"Kruger, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Zeke says in hopes of distracting the mage.

But Kruger ignores the greeting to peer around Zeke. He studies the seal on the wall with an amused hum. Does... he know what this says? But the Beast Titan assured Zeke that no mage would be able to... Ah.

Kruger is a Titan, isn't he?

"A leeching spell, huh? Particularly nasty one at that. This is going to get everyone involved, you know that, right? It's not just the mages that will be impacted by this. The non-magical civilians will have their life energy drained since they don't have magic to compensate."

Zeke prepares himself for a fight while forcing a pleasant smile on his face. He doesn't want to start a fight right now, but if push comes to shove, Zeke cannot be brought down here. Even if it's just to run, he needs to buy himself a few more seconds.

"For some, this is the only way to fight."

Kruger closes his eyes for a second before he takes a step back, eyes open and grinning. "Sorry if it sounded like I'm judging. Just wanted to make sure that you knew exactly what you were getting into. That way, you can't back away at the end saying that you didn't know and that your Titan made you do it. You consciously chose to sacrifice everyone that comes within this vicinity to win this War."

"That is my resolve," Zeke tells him.

"You're probably the only one who will be able to use the Beast Titan to his full potential," Kruger remarks lightly.

He takes his leave after that, not bothering to tell Zeke any more than such a cryptic words.

When Zeke brings this up to the Beast Titan later, the Beast pales.

"You're lucky that you survived. That person you met is the Attack Titan. No matter how much magic you amass, it will never be enough to fight against that monster."

"But that's just how all Titans are, isn't it? You guys have way more magic than we ever would," Grisha says, revealing that he has been listening in on their conversation.

The Beast's lips pull into a frown. "Well... Yes, but... even among us Titans, he's a step up. The amount of magic that he holds is incredible. Then again, I suppose that's inevitable. He's always been an outlier... You mustn't treat him as a human. Surely, you've heard of the things that the Attack Titan has done? Betraying his previous Masters, destroying an orphanage and slaughtering all the children within it, and those are just the recorded ones. If his Master cannot control him, he will quite possibly destroy the world."

It's hard to imagine. Kruger? The same person who beamed when he first ate a cake pop? He betrayed and killed so many innocents?

But that's probably why Kruger gave Zeke that warning. To remind him that if he continues down this path, he would end up with the same bloodied hands as Kruger.

Zeke closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them again, he faces both the Beast and his father.

"The best way to deal with the Attack Titan would be to go after its Master, then."

Immediately, Grisha frowns and shakes his head no. "We are not going to engage the Survey Corps. They have an Ackerman on their side!"

"We will have to face them eventually. But that's why we put those seals in place," the Beast reminds him.

"W-wait, the Attack Titan knows about those seals. He'll-"

The Beast lets out a sound that sounds like a snort. "That guy won't tell. He prefers it when there's a grand bloodshed where many people dies. So as long as things don't go wrong, we'll be able to win the War by engaging him."

"But you just said that this won't be enough to stop him," Grisha points out.

"That's why I also said we'll have to play dirty."

Sacrificing all these people isn't the dirty part?

But it's much too late to complain about the methods. They have to win. No matter what.

He's already dirtied his hands. A little more isn't going to make a difference.


	51. Post-Fight: the Restorationists' Plan

Hange frowns as she stares at the seal inscribed on the wall in the alleyway of a shop few blocks away from the coffee shop Eren likes to go to.

"It _is_ that, isn't it?" Moblit asks nervously. "I was hoping I was mistaken. But the more I look at it, the more I become sure of it. Everyone within its radius will be... be..."

"Yeah. They'll be sacrificed for the sake of boosting the creator of this seal," Hange confirms.

Moblit takes in a shaky breath in. "I was afraid of that. It's... it's a Master, right?

"Most likely, yes," Hange agrees.

"I see... I see..." Moblit covers his face. "What kind of a cruel person sets up a seal like this? Won't this end up sacrificing even the non-magical civilians in the area? You drain the magic of the mages and... for those who have no magic, wouldn't you end up k-killing them?"

Hange nods in affirmation.

"That's horrible! How can there be any wish worth killing that many people for?"

It's easy to say that. But Hange and Moblit both come from a world where they're allowed to chase what they want. They are allowed to live with their heads held high and goals of their own choosing to strive for. But someone not as privileged won't think that way.

"You sound like the Colossal," Hange says lightly instead.

Moblit stays quiet for a second before admitting, "Maybe we should have heard him out."

"Even if we think that's how the world should be, that won't stop others who think otherwise from doing what they want. We should instead look at this situation as 'thank god we found it before it activated.' That means we have a chance to stop it."

*

Erwin looks at the report with gravity that Hange knew he would.

"We managed to find at least five more in the area," Moblit finishes the report. "It's possible there are few more that we were not able to find. As soon as they're discovered, we need to deactivate them."

But Hange understands why Erwin is hesitating. The minute they deactivate the seals, the caster would know that someone is onto them. It would cause one of two cases: The best case: the caster stops what they're doing, or the worst case: the caster activates all other seals that they have not managed to find. Since they're talking of someone who thought up of such terrifying plan, Hange bets that the latter is most likely a scenario.

"Mike, do you think you can track this back to the caster?" Erwin asks.

There's a thought that Hange hasn't considered. Track the caster. If they can stop the caster (Hange assumes it's the Master of a Titan), then they'll be able to stop all the seals at once. This, of course, comes at the cost of the caster activating all the seals before they can stop them. But this is a risk that Hange is more willing to take. Because this means that they'd have tracked down the next Master to take down.

"I can do it," Mike assures them.

How reliable.

"Then may I request my Squad join his?" Hange asks.

Moblit glances at her curiously.

"My second is really upset about this. So I'd like to give him the chance to punch the caster in the face!"

No need to blush that cutely, Moblit! He's done a lot recently to try and ease Hange's burdens by taking on a lot of her paperwork that she's been putting off so she can poke and prod Eren. So this is the least she can do as a thank you.

"Alright. Then I'll leave this to your two Squads," Erwin decides. "As soon as you find the answer, report back. If this really is a Master that we're facing, I want to go in on our terms. Moblit, would you give us until then before you punch the caster?"

Moblit flushes red. "Y-yes, of course, sir."


	52. Levi's Dream Diary 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

There are stacks of blank papers scattered all over the desk and the ground. Levi feels curious as to what these say, but he can't make heads or tails of them.

Jean must have said something, because Levi glances up towards him and scoffs.

"A weak seal like this won't hold a Titan for longer than an hour."

He doesn't know what Jean said as a response to that. All he sees is the confident grin on Jean's face, and all he feels is a sinking feeling in his stomach. Is this Eren's feelings at that time? Or Eren's feelings about that conversation now?

*

Levi doesn't feel any pain, but he must be injured in this dream, because he hears a sharp hiss.

The oriental girl (Right. Mikasa. That's her name, isn't it?) sighs and shakes her head at him. She's holding a rag that's clearly being dyed red over Levi's knee. It's not quite exasperation on her face, but she doesn't look all that happy either.

Oh. Is she lecturing him?

It's frustrating not being able to hear anyone else.

*

Jeesh, Eren. How many blonde men do you know?

The blonde before him is beefy. He is staring at Levi with wide eyes of horror. Not that Levi can blame him.

He doesn't smell the blood as always. But the entire room is painted thick with it. There are corpses of children on the ground between Levi and the beefy blonde. Even without hearing anything the blonde says, Levi has a pretty good idea what this is about.

One of the previous Wars, the Attack Titan destroyed an orphanage with all the children inside. This is that moment, isn't it?

Levi wonders why Eren decided to do this.

*

Annie stares at him in disbelief. The look of pure fear on her face tells Levi more than enough about the situation before him. After all, how often has Levi seen that look directed at himself from the families of those he killed?

There's a corpse of a man before him. Is this that "General" person that's supposed to be Annie's father?

He feels someone squeeze his shoulder. When he turns to look, Armin gives him a shaky smile that looks sickened.

Levi wonders if this heavy feeling in his chest is Eren's feelings from that time or his own dread at knowing how this story is going to end.

*

The despair in his heart is crippling. What is this guilt that threatens to choke him?

"What else was I supposed to do? What else could I do? There can only be one victor in this War. It's either Reiner or me. So I'll just make the choice for all of us."

The only voice that Levi can hear in these dreams are Eren's. So it stands to reason that this is Eren's voice that he's hearing. But that's not Eren's voice. This voice is much deeper.

"That's why... By the power of the Command Spell, I order you. Attack Titan, fight until there's no one left alive."

When Levi wakes up after this dream, Eren is sitting by his bedside, staring at him.

"What?" Levi asks him. "Here to tell me about your past?"

"You know this is a two-way street, right? Every time you see something of mine, I see something of yours."

That is actually news to Levi. But if he thinks about it, that does make sense. If Levi can feel Eren's emotions and see his past, then it's only natural that Eren would be able to see Levi's.

"Saw something that bothered you?" Levi asks.

"I don't understand why you chose to side with Erwin after Furlan and Isabel died."

What a strange thing to ask, Levi thinks. Of all the questionable decisions Levi has made, that's the one that confused Eren? But that decision was the easiest thing for Levi to make.

"They knew what they were getting into when they agreed to the job. It was nothing personal. And once I understood what Erwin's end goal was, I agreed with him over our employers."

"But Erwin ordered their deaths. Mike killed them," Eren says. "I don't understand how you can be on their side."

Levi can't help but to think that his Titan is quite naïve. "That's just a business."

When his Titan still look dissatisfied, Levi sighs. How to explain to a child whose views on the world is limited to these short time he has during the War?

"We were paid to kill Erwin. When we failed to do that, we lost all rights to complain about what they do in retaliation. It just so happened that those two died before Erwin talked about his goals and asking us to switch sides."

"And you never once thought of revenge?" Eren asks.

Levi shrugs. "Why would I? The dead is just that. Dead. Why should I waste my life living for the dead?"

Eren stays quiet for a beat longer. Then he gives Levi a smile that seems nostalgic.

"Yeah, I don't understand at all."


	53. Deceit 5

Every mage has a specific signature that's uniquely them. In every magic they cast, they engrave this signature. It's the easiest way to figure out who is responsible for whatever magic is around you.

The one magic signature that Porco knows almost better than his own is his brother's.

Tracking down the Jaw Titan who doesn't seem to realize that Marcel's seal is still on her is the easy part.

The hard part is figuring out what to do from here.

Attacking blindly is out of the question. Marcel was completely overwhelmed by the Jaw Titan's magic, which means Porco has no chance if he just rushes in. He needs some kind of a plan.

But that's easier said than done. How the hell is he supposed to come up with a plan when all he's ever done is follow Marcel?

At the very least, he knows he should wait until the seal activates before he makes a move. That way, the only thing he'll have to worry about is the Master getting in the way. If he can help it, he'd rather not kill that girl. But he isn't sure how quickly he'd be able to kill a Titan, even if said Titan is tied down with magic. Can he really kill it before Marcel's seal runs out?

Well, he supposes there's just one way to find out.

*

Eren's head snaps up, staring out in to the distance with an alarmed expression on his face. Levi doesn't like this feeling in his chest. He guesses that this anxiety is Eren's feelings leaking over. But why? What did he feel that's making him so nervous?

"What?" Levi asks him.

"A Titan battle started."

Levi wonders if the shitty four-eyes triggered a fight with a Master instead of reporting back. But if that's the case, Erwin will be rushing over here to tell them to get ready to be dispatched.

"The area isn't near where Hange and others went. Unless there was some teleportation magic involved, this is another Master."

Something tells Levi that Eren knows who is involved in this.

"It's not our business. We were told to stand by and wait for further instructions for when Hange and Mike returns with intel."

Eren stares out into the distance for a second longer before turning to Levi with a grin.

"I'm going to play."

It's unusual for his Titan to be this disagreeable. Is it because Levi has been too lenient recently?

Levi shakes his head. "No, you're not. Stand down."

"Don't wanna," Eren dares to say with a cheeky grin. "If there's a Titan fight. I'm going to get involved."

The traitorous Attack Titan, whose only delight is in bloodshed, huh? Tch. He's so not cute at all. But if this is how Eren wants to play, then Levi has no choice but to kick his Titan-

He realizes a second too late that there's smoke in the room. By the time he swings his fists, his Titan has already made his way to the door. Throwing off Levi's senses by using this damned fog is cheating. Damn. He underestimated Eren.

"Get back here!" Levi demands.

"If you really want me to obey, use your Command Spell."

Eren stares at Levi's stiff silence before smiling.

"I thought so. You guys were planning on using it to kill me, weren't you?"

Levi can't bring himself to deny it. Technically, Erwin's words were to use the Command Spell to stop Eren from betraying them when the time comes. But everyone knows what that really means. If he could, Levi would prefer not lie to Eren.

"I'll ask you one last time. Don't go," Levi says.

Eren's grin does not look triumphant. If anything, it looks a little apologetic.

"I have to," Eren says.

Then he is gone without further words.

"Shit."


	54. Investigation 1

It wasn't like they thought this would be a walk in the park. But it's not like Mike walked in here with the intention of bringing down a cult.

They're at a fancy hotel near the outskirts of the city. The sign outside says that this is a business meeting, but any mage will be able to tell exactly what this is.

"The Restorationists," Nanabe mumbles with a frown. "Their belief is that mages should not live in hiding from our non-magical counterparts."

Ironic, given that they're hiding in the outskirts, away from the Marleyan territory. But that's not really something Mike wants to fight with someone on.

"Flip the society so that mages are at the top? Sounds great on paper. But the last time we tried that, it ended with the War of Suppression and Helos Treaty. The current situation is what we've managed to salvage. Jeesh, don't they teach history in schools anymore?" Gelgar sighs with a shake of his head.

Lynne makes a motion for them to be quiet. "Squad Leader Mike, do you smell the caster?"

They all shut up to stare at Mike. Unfortunately, Mike responds in negative.

He's certain that the caster is within this vicinity. They assumed that since there were so many people gathering at this hotel, the caster might be blending in here (or putting in another seal to trap all the Restorationists). But Mike hasn't smelled the magical signature of the seal since stepping inside.

"Maybe that person isn't here?" Hange wonders.

"Well, there are couple other hotels nearby. Maybe the caster is hiding in one of those," Moblit guesses.

As soon as Moblit says that, Mike catches the scent. The caster is here, among the Restorationists.

If Mike's circuits had more generations to boost it, he wonders if he would be able to pinpoint the caster easier. Probably, right? For Levi, this kind of things must be the same as waving his hand.

"They are here," Mike says.

The rest of his group nods. "Okay. Then we'll spread out and search."

"Remember to be discreet," Henning reminds them all.

Mike gets the feeling he's specifically aiming that at Hange and her Squad.

*

Typically, Mike wouldn't accept alcohol while on a mission, even if it's undercover. It hampers his circuits too much for him to be useful. But he holds a glass in one hand so that he'd fit in with the rest of the cheerful drunks.

"Everyone, thank you so much for gathering today!" the person that Mike assumes is the leader says through a mic.

The room quietens down and focuses on the man who has gotten on top of a table to speak.

And there.

Mike locates the caster of the seal. It's a teenager at best. Someone much too young to have seen enough of the world to form an opinion that isn't echoing what is said around him. The speaker right now is probably the teenager's parent. And if Erwin's guess is correct, then this teenager is the Master of a Titan.

Isn't that too cruel of a parent to force their child to take on this role?

"Hange," Mike whispers, lowering his voice. "That teenager is the one who casted the seal."

She doesn't allow the cheerful expression on her face to falter. Times like these, Mike finds her ability to mask her feelings quite useful.

"A teenager as their Master, huh? He must be very talented."

"Is this your first time at these meetings?" a mage asks, looking at the two of them with a drunk laugh. "That's right! Zeke is quite talented! He's going to be the one to win this War!"

Hange laughs and cheers with them easily. But Mike can only manage to lift his glass of alcohol. It's only then, when the alcohol is near his nose, that he realizes something vital.

Isn't this poison?

"So you Survey Corps members need to die, okay?"

It's probably because Mike is the only one who hasn't drank any alcohol that he could move in time to pull Hange out of harm's way. They underestimated this place. They underestimated the Restorationists.

"Moblit! Take Hange and report back to Erwin! My Squad, we defend their way out!"


	55. Second Clash 1

Porco is certain that he timed this right. He gave it a few minutes once the seal activated before he jumped in.

But he made two mistakes.

The first is that he underestimated exactly how hard it is to kill a Titan. The second is that he didn't take Krista into account.

In his defense, though, how the hell was he supposed to prepare for a curse caster?

Magic in general depends heavily on the caster's circuitry.

But not curses. Curses require one thing.

The caster's willingness to sacrifice everything.

That's because a curse is a fickle thing. If the caster's feelings are not vicious enough, if they are not spiteful enough, a curse will return to its caster triple-fold. No matter how good one is at casting curses, a small mistake will cost them everything. That is why people who believe they have a future (and Porco assumed that a Master who is fighting in this War for a wish to be granted would have a future) would never even consider using a curse.

But Krista Lenz throws curses around as if there will be no tomorrow.

It terrifies Porco.

And isn't that hilarious? He is a Warrior of Marley. He trained since he was a child for this position, to be someone who could stand on equal ground with Marcel. And when he lost Marcel, he thought that this was it. He would take out Marcel's murderer, even if it meant he lost his own life in the process. He thought he was ready for that.

But the minute he faces against a curse caster, someone who has no regards for their own life, he finds himself looking for a way out.

So this is the worth of his own determination.

He notices the smoke surrounding them a second too late. By then, everything has been obscured by it. This has to be someone's magic. It can't be natural. But who would-

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

... Kruger?

"I felt something like that seal I gave Marcel activate. But it looks like it was mis-casted," Kruger says, staring out into the smoke.

"M-mis...?"

No, no, no. T-that can't be. Marcel died. Marcel died to cast that seal instead of running or defending himself. What the hell? It mis-casted? T-then what was it all for? Doesn't that mean Marcel died for nothing?

"Don't make that face," Kruger tells him. "I'm sure he had no choice but to cast it in that situation. And if he mis-casted, he was probably killed while he was trying to cast it, too. There's a good portion of it on the Jaw right now. But I doubt it'll hold for too long. We'll have to move fast."

"We?" Porco echoes.

What the hell is this guy talking about? Why is he getting involved in this for? He's the one who gave Marcel that stupid seal in the first place. He's the one who made Marcel believe that they had what it took to face against a Titan. If anything, he should be begging for forgiveness from Porco right now!

"I feel guilty for giving it to him."

Feel guilty? A Titan is? Porco was under the impression that Titans were just tools for the Master to use. They can't do something as humane as feel guilty, can they?

"I'll take the Jaw down for you. Let's call it even with that."

Well, Porco supposes this is better than his situation before. Letting two Titans fight would always be easier than trying to fight one and its Master by himself.

"That Master uses curses," Porco warns him.

Kruger's lips curl into a sneer. "How barbaric. It's going to be annoying, but it won't be impossible. Can you help with distractions?"

"What's the plan?"


	56. Investigation 2

They fucked up.

Plain and simple.

They assumed that the only enemies they would face are those of the Restorationists. They didn't stop to think that perhaps there's a reason why this hotel was chosen.

The hotel workers block their paths with seals and spells. Mike Squad opened up a road for Hange Squad to go forward, but that won't mean much if the way out is completely blocked. Hange can't get any kind of communication out to Erwin or the rest of the Survey Corps. This can only mean that there's some kind of a magic block. And that's not to mention the poison in the alcohol that's clearly taking hold.

In this situation, there's a limited number of things that Moblit can think to do.

But the only one that would guarantee that at least Hange gets out requires him to make a choice. If the choice was between his own life and Hange's, Moblit would choose Hange every single time. But the choice becomes muddled when he has to consider the lives of the rest of their Squad.

"Let's hide here!"

They duck behind the hotel check-in counter after pushing everyone there out with their magic.

"Okay, this looks bad, but we can make it out," Hange tells them.

"How?" Nifa asks.

Hange goes quiet for a second. "I-I'm still working on that part. But we can get out!"

No, the only way out is most likely...

"I have a plan," Moblit offers with a serene smile.

*

They once asked Erwin what he would do in this made up situation: You and your Squad are trapped with enemies on all sides. The way out is blocked. But your Squad has vital information that will benefit the Survey Corps. What do you do?

Erwin answered without any hesitation. "I will find a way for everyone to get out. And if that's not something that is possible, then all we have to do is make sure at least one person with the information can get out."

Even if that's how the leader feels, everyone would have already prioritized the leader getting out.

Hange feels the weight of their lives heavy on her shoulders as she makes a break for the door. As soon as the call to Erwin connects, she can return. As soon as she gets the information to Erwin's hands, she can run back here to fight with her Squad.

They just need to last that long.

Moblit, buy her just that much time.

As soon as her hand touches the door of the entrance, she realizes they were too naïve. Naïve and foolish and overconfident.

There's a barrier on the door, preventing anyone from leaving. From the beginning, there was no way out.

No way out?

But Mike and his Squad stayed behind to open up a path for them. Moblit and the rest of her Squad stayed back so that she could get this far. Is she just going to give up here and turn back to them with "We can't get out that way! Oops!" while laughing irresponsibly?

Think.

In this hopeless situation, what can she do?

Ah. What a stupid question.

There's just one thing to do, isn't there?

She pulls out her gun, wondering why she didn't think of this earlier. These bullets were made for piercing through magic. Of course, it should work in this situation. But to make sure, she won't aim at the door. It looks quite thick anyways. It won't do if the bullet gets stuck in the wood of the door. Instead...

Hange aims and fires at the nearest window.

The bullet hits the magical barrier and slows. No, no, no. It cannot stop there. It cannot. This is Hange's last option. It cannot fail.

She fires five more times, knowing that she'll pay for this later whether when she needs to make more bullets to replace these or when she needs these to fight later on. But that's not going to matter if she (and everyone else) dies here now.

Even though the first bullet failed, the next five bullets push through and crashes out the window. That's enough of an opening for her.

Hange pushes her magic out. It'll take shape of red wings over the hotel for Erwin, their SOS signal.

With her duty taken care of, she rushes back to her Squad, hoping that she isn't too late.


	57. Second Clash 2

"We should have joined the first battle," was the Armored Titan's words when Gabi relayed what Falco told her.

"I doubt we would've made any difference," Gabi pointed out.

The Armored shook his head. "The Warhammer has the best method of keeping the Attack's smokes at bay. The rest of us will end up playing to his tune at this rate... Okay. The next time I feel the Attack fighting, we need to go there ourselves and help the other Titan."

It wasn't like Gabi planned on winning this War by hiding the entire time. So she was fine with agreeing to that.

She just didn't think it would happen so soon.

"It'll be for the best that you stay back. If you see smoke rolling in, get away or use your magic to push it away," the Armored advices as he turns to face the fight between the Jaw Titan and the Attack Titan unfolding before them.

Gabi nods. "Because the smoke is how the Attack Titan keeps tab on you, right?"

"Yes. If he knows where you are, he will most definitely abandon the fight to kill you. You have to live if you want to win."

"Got it."

For a second, the Armored looks like he has more he wants to say. But he must have swallowed them all down, because he nods stiffly and turns his attention back to the fight again.

"Stay safe," he says.

Then he jumps into the fight.

*

It's actually pretty scary how much the smoke swallows up her vision. Although she can hear the fighting, she can barely make out the shapes of the Titans. It looks like she needs to start blowing the smoke away.

Let's see, the spell for manipulating wind was...

"... Gabi?"

She flinches at the sound of her name and turns.

It looks like their guess that Porco is dead was wrong. That's a good thing. It really is.

Except this is a battlefield for Titans. And isn't the fact that Porco is here...

"Did you summon the Armored?" he asks.

She is terrified to answer. The moment she does, wouldn't he try to kill her? And right now, her Armored is too busy with his own fight to rush over to help her. But in the same breath, Porco Galliard taught her and the rest of the Warrior Candidates. She knows that he's not a bad person.

He won't kill her without a warning.

... Right?

"I-I did," she says. "D-did you summon...?"

"I'm not a Master," Porco assures her.

Slowly, Gabi lets out a small breath of relief.

"But the Jaw Titan killed Marcel. If you're the Armored's Master, help me kill the Jaw."

H-huh...? S-so... The reason why Porco disappeared was because the Jaw...? B-but Marcel is the best mage out of everyone in Marley territory. People often said he was next in line to be the Commander once Magath was promoted to General position. How could he be...?

"Gabi," Porco says calmly and slowly. "Are you going to help me or not?"

E-even if he says that, the Armored said that it's impossible to defeat the Attack in one-on-one. This is a great chance to defeat the Attack, especially since they lost their chance by missing out fighting with the Warhammer.

"I-it makes more sense to take out the Attack first," Gabi tries to reason.

She feels a chill that seems to sink even into her bones. Everyone said that Marcel was the best. Possibly because of that, no one ever talked about Porco's abilities. But the magic swirling around him right now is making all of Gabi's senses scream at the sight of looming danger.

"I have no qualms about killing you. Marcel's murderer dies first. Are you with me?"

Gabi's throat is dry. She feels her heart quiver in fear. She is going to die. There's no doubt in her mind of that. But her family! She has to win this War for her family!

And as soon as she thinks about that, she realizes just how terrible that is.

She is allowed to fight for her family, but Porco must suffer the humiliation of doing nothing while his brother's murderer gets away?

Yeah. She would be murderous, too.

"Okay," Gabi decides. "The Jaw goes down first."

The magic around Porco calms. "Good. Give the order."

But when Gabi calls for the Armored, he does not respond. He's clearly too caught up in the fight to be able to register anything else. This is bad. If Armored doesn't listen, wouldn't Porco kill her?

"H-he's not... l-listening to me... I-I swear I'm not doing this on purpose! I want to help you! Honest!"

Porco's gaze is cold. He doesn't believe her.

Shoot. Shoot. She doesn't want to die. She doesn't want to die. She doesn't want to die.

"Then use your Command Spell."

Her...?

Oh. That's right. There's still that option, isn't there?


	58. Investigation 3

"Should I have stopped him?" Levi asks Erwin.

Erwin looks grave, but he shakes his head. "It'll be better if he came with us. But not burning your Command Spell was the correct choice. Besides, if what you're saying is correct, then if we start a fight with a Titan, Eren should come to us. And if it turns out that there isn't a Master or a Titan involved in this, we can take care of it ourselves."

Those words are relieving to hear. But Levi gets the feeling that Erwin doesn't believe for a second that Levi couldn't stop Eren. That's probably the downside of being an Ackerman. Everyone thinks that you're capable of more than what you can actually do.

"For now, we'll stand by and hope that everything is okay with Hange."

*

Everything is clearly not okay with Hange, if the red SOS is any indication.

Levi bets that Erwin wants to take back his words that it was fine for Eren to leave.

*

"Are you sure this is the location?" Nile asks as he glances around the empty plot of land.

"They said it was a hotel at this place," Erwin confirms with a frown. "Levi, what do you think?"

It's faint, but he recognizes Hange's magic signature. She was here when she fired the SOS. The question is where is she now? The last report received before the SOS was that they were going to enter a fancy looking hotel. Yet there's not a single hotel in sight. Obviously, someone with magic could make an entire hotel disappear. But doing so wouldn't completely erase the traces of other mages like this. Therefore...

"Either they moved locations or the hotel is cloaked."

Erwin nods. He orders the mages gathered around to search. Then he lowers his voice so that only Levi can hear.

"If things get bad, do you think you can ask Eren to come here?"

"I don't know," Levi tells him honestly.

Erwin's expression is grim, but he doesn't call Levi names. Instead, he nods again and turns to look at the situation.

"There's a possibility that we might not make it out. In that situation, prioritize your life."

But still don't bother with the Command Spell, huh? If things does become that bad, doesn't it make sense to use it? The Command Spell is going to be useless if they're all dead.

"I will make the decision based on the circumstances," Levi says instead.

Erwin gives him a look but doesn't say anything more.

*

"Sir! There's an underground entrance!"

"That's a trap," Pixis points out.

"We knew that this would be a trap the minute we came here," Erwin says. "The Attack Titan will come to us when we start fighting a Titan. Believe in that and let's go."

*

Hange wakes to the smell of magic and blood. She can't open one of her eyes, quite possibly because of the blood falling into it. Vaguely, she recalls that she was hit quite hard on the head. Wait. No. What she needs to focus is-

"Moblit?" she calls, her voice hoarse.

She takes a moment to clear her throat before calling out for him again.

Someone informs her, "If you mean your friends that came with you, they're unconscious but alive."

Slowly, Hange focuses on a plump middle-aged man with a nervous smile.

"Hello. I'm the Beast Titan."

He looks much older than Eren. That's Hange's first observation. The second observation is that the Beast lacks the confidence that Eren has. Is that because the Beast is known as a useless Titan?

"What seal did you just put up?" Hange asks.

The Beast gives an apologetic dip of the head. "Don't worry about it. The minute your rescue arrives, all of you will be dead. So it doesn't matter."

"Hey, that seal you put all over the city. The one that's meant to take their magic or, if they don't have any, take their life? Was that your plan or did your Master come up with it?"

"Does it matter?" the Beast asks her.

"It matters quite a lot."

After a second's pause, the Beast shrugs and answers her. "I came up with it."

Hange nods, feeling much better about this knowledge. She isn't so generous as to say that they'll spare the Master's life, since it's always easier to stop a Titan by killing its Master. But it means that...

She punches the Beast Titan's face.

"That's for Moblit."

They tie her up to prevent her from doing that again.


	59. Second Clash 3

He feels like he can hear the Attack Titan's mocking laughter.

"So much for getting revenge for Bertolt! Hahaha! What a great guardian you are, Reiner!"

The Armored Titan cannot physically bring himself to fight against the Attack Titan any longer. Damn it. Gabi must have used her Command Spell. But why? Was it the way he explained it? Did she not understand how important it is to bring down the Attack Titan? That no Titan working alone will be able to do it? Eren is a monster even among the Titans.

It's frustrating.

It's frustrating.

Yet again, he won't be able to bring down the Attack.

He'll have to wait 300 years more to get revenge for those kids of his orphanage.

*

Porco slowly breaths out in relief as the Jaw Titan disappears. He thinks he hears faint screaming and crying from the Jaw's Master. And now she can feel for herself what Porco did when his brother died.

And now...

Gabi turns to Porco. "The Jaw Titan is dead. So help me! Armored said you can't win against the Attack alone. You have to have a way to hold the Attack back, right?"

Help? R-right. That's what he should do. It only makes sense. He forced Gabi to use a Command Spell. So the least he can do is help out.

But the Attack Titan came even though Porco didn't call for him.

The Attack Titan said he felt guilty.

Kruger shared cake pops with Porco and Marcel. Kruger gave that seal to Marcel as a sign of good will. Kruger never attempted to hurt them nor did he ever try to kill them.

"I..."

The decision is made for him.

He pushes Gabi down just in time to dodge the curse that's thrown in their direction.

"Gabi! Forget about the Attack right now. That woman is a curse caster. If you get near her or you touch anything she throws, you will die a slow painful death."

"B-but!"

"If you die, that's it. The War is over for you. Don't you have a wish you're fighting for?" Porco reminds her.

She hesitates for a second longer before she nods. Porco ruffles her hair.

"I'll help you fight against the Attack and whatever else is left," he promises. "So for now, keep yourself safe and alive."

This is their goodbye, then. He never had any intentions of surviving past killing his brother's murderer anyways. He'll make sure that Gabi gets out by killing Krista, even if it means that he'll take on the brunt of these curses.

Something about having someone to protect makes fighting that much easier.

Huh. Maybe that's why Marcel was able to stare the Jaw Titan down and cast that seal even with his death looming before him.

A loud howl of pure rage interrupts their talk.

Porco slowly turns and sees the Attack Titan disappear. Not disappear like the Jaw Titan did once it was defeated. But more like he's being called somewhere. Did his Master call him to his side? What a waste of Command Spell... Then again, Porco supposes he doesn't really have the room to talk.

With the Attack Titan no longer there, the Armored Titan finally moves to protect its Master from the curse caster.

Porco's preparation to die is put on hold for another time.


	60. Investigation 4

The underground entrance leads to a narrow hallway that goes even deeper down. They are forced to walk in single file line through it until they get to a single doorway after a twenty minute walk.

"Erwin, step back," Nile says. "We'll go in first."

Without any sign of complaint, Erwin allows for Nile and his Military Police members to enter. They open the door, and Nile steps in. His men just a second behind.

Nile lets out a sharp hiss. And Erwin sees exactly what these damned Restorationists have plotted.

The members of Mike Squad has been nailed to the wall. With how the nails look, they probably hold seals within them that will activate if anyone tries to help Mike Squad down.

"No sign of Mike or Hange. I wager they know who we are," Erwin says.

"S-should we let them down?" Floch asks, his voice quivering as he looks at Mike Squad members.

Erwin meets eyes with Nanabe, who shakes her head at him. She doesn't say anything. Erwin guesses that there's another seal that will activate if she tries to warn them.

"We move forward. Once we bring down the Titan, we'll be able to undo this," Erwin decides. He looks to Mike Squad members. "Until then, your only orders are to survive."

Hoping that they'll be able to make it back in time to save Mike Squad members, Erwin presses forward.

*

The next corridor isn't as narrow as the first one, but their descent downward is the same. It leads them towards a much larger entrance. Even without further assessment, Erwin understands that this is where the rest of the Restorationists must be waiting for them.

"Levi, stay near the back. If it looks bad, run out," Erwin orders.

Although Levi looks like he doesn't like it, he nods in agreement.

With that set, they enter.

*

Erwin realizes he has been had.

The room is empty. It's not until they had entered and looked around that the seal activates.

The last thing Erwin recalls before he blacks out is Nile desperately trying to push him out of the room.

*

"Tactical genius? Hahaha! You fell for a grade school level trick!"

Erwin is aware of the laughter. He is aware of the crowd. He is aware that he has been bested.

There's an activated seal on him that's sapping his magic. The rest of the crew he dragged with him are probably all suffering the same because of his carelessness. Damn it. Why had he been so impatient for? Why did he push forward so aggressively?

Did Levi make it out? As long as Levi made it out, there's a chance for his wish to be granted.

Even if he isn't alive to see the fruition of his hard work, he can be satisfied with this.

The thing about curses is that most mages don't use it in fear that it'll backfire on them. You don't even need magic to activate it. All you need is a potent amount of hatred. As long as that feeling doesn't shake, the curse will not return to its caster.

But in this kind of case, it's fine even if the curse backfires on him.

Because then the curse will end up killing the one who casted the seal, thinking to steal his magic. 

Genius tactician? Erwin never really felt that he deserved such a title. But it would be a shame if he didn't at least put up this much of a fight before rolling over dead.

*

There are too many people packed in this underground auditorium. If Levi was to start a fight to get the surviving Survey Corps and everyone else out, they will doubtlessly be overwhelmed. Escaping alone might have been possible ten minutes ago. But with this many people packed in, the smallest of movement will been seen.

What a headache.

Erwin told him to run if things came down to it. But is running really the correct option?

The enemy is in front of him. If he doesn't take down this Titan and its Master now, wouldn't it become an even bigger headache later, especially given how much magic they're snatching up? Given that, it makes the most amount of sense to engage.

When Eren asked Levi why he followed Erwin after Furlan's and Isabel's deaths, it was easy for Levi to say that it was just business.

If Eren were to ask him why Levi is ignoring Erwin's orders now, Levi supposes he can only answer with one thing.

"Because that order was damned stupid."


	61. Third Clash 1

The first sign that something's wrong was so miniscule that no one noticed it. And by the time that someone mentioned that it's a bit foggy in there, Zeke felt a sharp stab in his chest. It took him a few seconds to recognize that it's a curse (which is actually pretty impressive seeing that he's never suffered at the hands of a curse before).

And that's when it happened.

The Attack Titan manifested itself.

They chose the underground as the location to face against the Survey Corps to lead them on a merry chase through the mazes. They laid seals to steal magic and interwove it so thickly with live baits that there was no way that the Restorationists could lose.

If the Master representing Survey Corps had been caught by it, of course.

And that.

They were so confident in this trap that they forgot to account for the most important thing.

This is why the Beast Titan was so terrified of the Attack, Zeke realizes.

It doesn't matter whose side you are on. It doesn't matter whether you're begging for your life or trying to fight. All lives are extinguished before the Attack.

A hand grips Zeke's shoulder. What's that expression on Grisha's face? Zeke can't name it.

"You need to get out of here," Grisha says, his voice shaking. "Send the Beast to stall against the Attack for as long as it can. Use that time it buys you to get out."

"But if the Beast dies, I lose this War," Zeke reminds him.

"Forget the War! If you die here then..."

Zeke doesn't know who this man wearing his dad's face is. He doesn't recognize that expression. He doesn't understand these words. Grisha has always put the ideals of the Restorationists first. Then isn't it only right that Zeke die for that cause?

"No! Zeke, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. But you need to live. I was wrong. I was so very wrong. Use the Command Spell. Use anything and everything. Even if the world says that you're a criminal, you did nothing wrong. It was me that pushed you into this. So just live!"

Grisha's words don't register.

*

"Stay with me, Moblit," Hange orders as she tries to drag her second's body out.

From the terrifying surge of magic, she can only conclude that Levi went against Erwin's order to not use the Command Spell until the Attack betrays them and used it to call Eren here. How many of them died for this? How many of them will get out of this?

Damn it.

Did winning against Marley make them this careless? Is that what happened? They became overly confident because of one measly victory and forgot to be careful?

Why did they think this would go so easily? Why didn't they put together a better plan?

"As soon as we get out of here, I'll buy you that sketchbook you've been eyeing. You said you need a new one, right? So just stay with me," Hange tells Moblit.

He doesn't answer her.

*

The Command Spell is a powerful thing.

It can fix a mage's broken circuitry. It can teleport a Mage or its Master to a location, change the weather, or even force a disobeying Titan to listen to a single order.

As it turns out, it can also move a group of people away from a currently dangerous Titan fight.

The surviving mages can only watch in fear as the two Titans below the earth send earthquake-like shockwaves throughout the land.


	62. Second and Third Clashes Conclusion

Official Report by the Reiss Family:

At 2 pm on Thursday afternoon, the Attack Titan targeted the Jaw and killed it. It was on its way to killing the Armored when its Master summoned it to kill the Beast Titan. Both the Jaw and the Beast Titans can no longer participate in the War, and therefore, their Masters can no longer participate.

*

The heaviest blow the Survey Corps received from the most recent Titan fight is the death of their Commander, Erwin Smith.

Although Levi understands that grieving is something that the Survey Corps as a whole needs (especially given just how many of them died in the last fight), he can't help but to feel impatient by how long the process is taking.

They do not know who the last Master is. If it's someone like the Beast's Master, who has the backings of a cult, they'll be in for another headache. They can always grieve for those who passed once the War is over. But for now, shouldn't they be more worried about winning their last fight?

"Eren," Levi calls when he spots his Titan cleaning the windows. "You haven't reported what happened with the Jaw."

His Titan glances at him curiously. "I wasn't sure if you were in the mood for it."

"Doesn't matter what my mood is. A report is a report."

*

The Armored Titan's Master is...?

"A young girl?" Levi echoes in disbelief.

"I couldn't get more detail because someone pulled me out of there. But yeah. From the Marley Territory, too. So if Marley gets their shit together, it's possible that we'll be fighting them again."

Shit.

They should have prioritized listening to Eren's report. That would have kicked those idiots into gear instead of this useless mourning.

"Alright. We need to tell Hange."

*

With Erwin's and Mike's death, the third in command should have taken the lead. But seeing that person was killed in the first fight, the next default person is Hange.

"I see. So it's like that..." she mumbles, nodding like she figured out something important.

Levi bets that she's thinking of tonight's dinner.

"What's our plan of action from here?" Floch asks.

The guy has his arm in a cast but seems otherwise uninjured. Levi wonders if maybe some of the other members protected him so that he wouldn't be too badly hurt. Either that, or this kid has some insane luck.

"After our brush with the Restorationists, it got me to think about the traps that we can set up ourselves at this base," Hange says.

"But that would require for them to come after us," Levi reminds her.

Eren seems to think about something before he nods. "I can do that."

They glance at him.

"Okay," Hange says, nodding. "We'll leave that to Eren. Then the rest of us will get our trap set up."

"Did you have a trap in mind?" Floch asks.

"Nothing barbaric like what the Restorationists used. But a couple magic restrictions and maybe some kind of puppets to force the Master to waste her magic and energy would work. If you have other ideas, do let me know."

*

"You've been getting rather friendly with the Marleyan kids while I wasn't watching, haven't you?" Levi can't help but to ask his Titan once they're alone.

"The coffee shop I like to go to is in their territory," comes the answer.

But that makes him wonder...

"Hey, did you know about the seal that the Restorationists put up?"

"Yes," Eren answers.

"Why didn't you report it?"

But Levi feels like he already know the answer to that.

"Why do I have to report it? It was in Marley territory, and there wasn't any sign that it was connected to the War."

Yeah, Levi figured as much. Probably because Eren didn't grow up with a strict military background, he doesn't bother with reporting every little thing. If Eren wasn't a Titan but an actual recruit, Levi could discipline him properly. But as it is, wouldn't Eren disappear once they kill the Armored Titan?

Thinking of it like that, Levi feels...

"I don't have the Command Spell anymore. If you disobey me, that's it for me."

Eren doesn't seem all that bothered by it. "Do you regret it?"

Regret, huh? If Levi hadn't used it then, he doubts that everyone that made it out would have. But in the same breath, if he had used it earlier...

"It's not about regret," Levi finds himself saying. "It means that I'm trusting you to have my back."

What a guilt-stricken expression. Levi won't be shocked if Eren has never heard those words from a Master before.

"I-I'm... the traitorous Attack Titan. What kind of an idiot would trust me?"

But Eren isn't making eye-contact with Levi.

"Why did you betray all those people?" Levi finally asks. "What were you trying to achieve?"

It looks like Eren has no plans on answering. Levi supposes that's fine. There's probably some things that Eren wants to keep to himself without Levi invading his privacy.

Then quietly, Eren asks, "How many wishes have been granted by the Founding Titan?"

"One," Levi answers without much thought.

Eren's smile looks strained, but that's all he'd say on the topic.

Levi feels like he has been given a hint.


	63. Levi's Dream Diary 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

There's that familiar lullaby as always. Except this time, Levi isn't on the familiar hill. He's humming it lightly to grinning children that look at him so excitedly.

"If this isn't helping you guys sleep, I can stop," Levi hears himself say.

The kids all rush to say something, but Levi can't hear them. He finds his lips curling into a smile regardless.

"Is that so?"

He feels someone ruffle his hair from behind. He can't hear any words, but he feels himself leaning into the touch. He gets the feeling that Eren rather likes this person.

"W-well, since you insist, I suppose I have no choice but to continue."

Eren is blushing, isn't he? Levi wonders who this person is.

*

It feels like Eren is always in a pool of blood, surrounded by corpses. Doesn't he get tired of feeling guilt over every death?

Levi himself has long gone numb to this.

*

He wonders what it is that Armin is saying. It looks important, judging from the panicked expression on his face. But it seems that Eren dislikes whatever it is that Armin is saying.

"There's no guarantee that you'll survive that!"

The soft smile on Armin's face serves to piss Eren off even more.

"If you do this, then-"

Armin nods, his smile never wavering. "I trust you to have my back."

It occurs to Levi belatedly that perhaps that sentence has a rather special place in Eren's heart. Eren didn't falter than because Levi trusted him. He faltered because those words were an echo from a tragedy long ago.

*

"Aren't you the one mistaken?"

This voice does not belong to Eren. The man standing before Eren is also someone that Levi has yet to meet in these dreams.

"You plan on fighting in how many Wars for that wish of yours? And? If you fail? A single loss would mean that everything that you've done was for nothing."

Eren nods. "I know. That's why I have no choice but to succeed, Kruger."

The man sighs and shakes his head. Levi feels uneasy. He can't quite tell if that's Eren's own feelings from that time or his own from seeing this man. It feels like whatever this man says, it'll be something that Levi could never agree with.

"It won't be that easy just because you want it to be. Win every War? Instead of demanding something so unreasonable, why don't you make it so that you will participate in every War?"

Even before Eren answers the question, Levi understands what happened next.

*

This place looks like a medicine room of sorts, decorated by shelves of herbs and medical charts. There's a plump man with glasses that smiles nervously at him. It looks like the man is speaking, but Levi can't hear it as always.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Vitamin supplements. You don't have to explain like it's my first time every time."

The man seems to be speaking in a placating manner that annoys Levi to no end. It's clear that Eren is much younger in this memory (Perhaps this is something that happened before the First War?). So why is this man so nervous of a child? 

"I get it, Xaver. Just do it."

With a small sigh, Xaver holds up a syringe.

Levi wonders what this unease he feels is.


	64. Post-Fight: The Restorationists

When Zeke wakes up, he's in a mage hospital.

The last thing he recalls is begging the Founding Titan to take anyone left alive out of the danger zone. Then the curse hit full force.

He thought that he would be dead.

Shouldn't he be dead? It makes sense for him to be dead, doesn't it?

"Oh, you're awake. That's good. We were all worried, you know."

It's a nurse with a kind smile on her face. Her nametag identifies her as "Carla." Zeke doesn't trust her. 

"Your father has been by your side the entire time," she says, motioning at Grisha who looks uncomfortable in the plastic chair by Zeke's side.

Does she really think such a flimsy lie is believable?

"What happened?" he asks her instead.

She doesn't call him out on ignoring her words about his dad. Instead, she allows for this topic change.

"Thanks to your usage of the Command Spell, we were able to get everyone out of immediate danger and get them all medical treatment. Unfortunately, the Beast was unable to win against the Attack."

So he lost.

That makes sense. The Beast did warn that he will not be able to win in a one-on-one fight against any of the other Titans. They came up with such an intricate plan in hopes of killing the Master from Survey Corps before it came down to a Titan fight. And instead, Zeke ruined all of it because he was the target of a curse.

He bets Grisha fell asleep by his bedside while stewing in anger.

"I was cursed," Zeke recalls.

Carla nods. "Yes. But when we went to mitigate, the curse was already gone. We are guessing your Titan nulled it... Quite possibly, that might have been why he lost."

No. More likely, the Beast understood that he couldn't win, so he decided to focus on healing Zeke. To his end, he was on Zeke's side, wasn't he?

"Thank you for answering my questions," Zeke tells her.

She smiles pleasantly and lets him rest.

*

Grisha wakes up few minutes afterwards, gasping and sweating like he had a nightmare when Zeke is the one who went through hell. For a second, it looks like Grisha doesn't recognize him. Then it must have sunk in because he lets out a choking gasp.

"Oh, thank god," he sobs. "You're alive. You're okay."

Zeke realizes with a start that this person cannot be his father. Grisha would never feel relieved at the sight of Zeke.

"I was wrong. I'm so sorry. For everything that I put you through. I'm so, so sorry."

Now the question becomes who this man wearing his father's face is.

"I... I'll make it up to you," the fake Grisha says. "I already disbanded the Restorationists. So you never have to worry about that again. And... And we can go somewhere. Just the two of us. Won't that be nice?"

Like when Zeke was six and Grisha left him at the top of a mountain to find his way back as part of his "training" to be a Master? Like when Zeke was eight and Grisha left him on a deserted island with the expectation that he'll be able to fend for himself for a month? Like when Grisha forced him to be mediocre in public so that no one would ever realize he was secretly planning on summoning a Titan?

"I'm tired. Please leave me alone," Zeke says.

This person is most definitely not his father. If it was really Grisha, he would have forced Zeke to shut up and listen.

Fake or not, though, Zeke is grateful for the silence he is left in.


	65. Chance Encounter: Zeke and Eren

"... Is it really okay for you to be walking around like this?" Zeke finds himself asking when he spots Kruger... that is, the Attack Titan in the coffee shop.

"Oh, you made it out alive. Nice," Kruger says.

Even if there's just one more Master to defeat, isn't this way too careless?

"By any chance, do you know a girl about... this tall," Kruger holds his hand up to demonstrate a small child's height, "by the name of 'Gabi?'"

Zeke sighs. "Do you know just how many children are named 'Gabi?' Do you not have any better way to tell this person apart? ... Wait. Is this the last remaining... person for the... you know?"

"It's fine if you don't know," Kruger says without answering Zeke's last question.

"I can't believe they're making you look for things like that," Zeke can't help but to comment. "Don't they typically send out interns?"

"A lot of people died because of the... what was it now? The 'earthquake' in the outskirts that interrupted a business convention."

Kruger doesn't say anything more. He doesn't accuse Zeke of anything either. But Zeke feels the guilt thick in his gut.

"I'm... sorry," Zeke finds himself saying.

Kruger shrugs. "Don't be. I did worse to your side."

Zeke isn't sure about that. While Kruger did physically kill and traumatize a lot of people, he didn't use a seal to steal someone's magic from them. This Titan who has been summoned to kill seems to answer to a different set of morals than he does. Perhaps it's because of that, he can't quite fault Kruger.

"If I hear anything about a Gabi, I'll let you know," Zeke says.

"No need. I was just curious. I'll find her when I do. No need for anything more complicated."

What a laid back way to look at it. But then again, it might be because Kruger doesn't want to end this fight so soon. If he does, he won't be able to come to this coffee shop anymore. Instead, he would be... Huh?

"What happens after everything is over?" Zeke asks. "Do you sleep until the next one?"

"There's a place called Paths for us to rest in. Time passes differently there than here. It kind of feels like we just returned when the next one begins."

He knows so little about the Titans. And soon, even Kruger will disappear to wait for the next War. Zeke wonders if maybe this is why the information available about the War is always so scarce.

"Does it ever get hard? Fighting so much, I mean."

The smile on Kruger's face is kind. "You mustn't think of us as humans."

With such an ominous advice, he takes his leave.


	66. Post-Fight: Reiss Family

"What is the meaning of this?! Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this!"

"Rod Reiss, you are hereby under arrest for knowingly and willingly sabotaging the War efforts for your personal greed," Marley's Public Security Authorities officers say.

One of the officers toss a folder at his feet.

"Krista Lenz. She's an unregistered mage who came into our territory recently. A quick investigation revealed that you had direct contact with her in the months prior to the start of the War. Finding this suspicious, Warrior Galliard put in a request for a more thorough search. We have concluded that she is your illegitimate daughter 'Historia Reiss' that you had for the sole purpose of participating in the War, which is against the Helos Treaty Article 15, Section b-21."

Rod Reiss rushes to defend himself, but there's only so much he can say in front of these officers with damning evidence. He resorts to asking for his lawyer.

*

If Porco and Marcel had waited until this investigation finished, would it have been possible for Marcel to have survived? Would they have had enough ammo to stop Krista... that is, Historia from unleashing her Titan?

Did they become overconfident due to Kruger's gift of the seal that can stop Titans?

But to blame it solely on Kruger seems irresponsible.

Especially now that Porco has had some time to think about what happened, he can't help but to wonder what he and Marcel had been so impatient about. Why didn't they wait until after Magath finished his fight and gone the day after? Why did they rush to make face-to-face contact for?

Porco sighs. It's easy to think that now, he supposes. He knows what their decisions led to, so he has a general gist of what they should have done instead. What's that saying? Hindsight is 20/20?

His biggest worry right now is that he might have made the wrong mistake with Gabi. When she asked him to keep her status as a Master quiet to the rest of the Marleys, he warned her that he could only do that for three days maximum. After that, his own guilt won't allow himself to not report it. But maybe that was too kind of him?

Maybe he should have told Colt right away.

Colt is currently taking care of all the administration side that Magath and Marcel used to take care of together. Yes, there's a lot of things that he needs to focus his attention on right now, especially with the Rod Reiss situation exploding in his face on top of everything. But to not say anything about Gabi would end up giving Colt more paperwork in the long run.

At least, that's how Marcel would've phrased it.

Then should he betray his promise to Gabi? Is that the correct choice to make?

Damn it. He hates this.

The one who normally thinks through these kinds of thing is Marcel. Porco just follows his lead. How the hell is he supposed to figure this out without Marcel?

Damn it.

*

A loud knock in the middle of the night disturbs Porco's sleep. When he goes to answer the door, he's greeted with a frazzled Colt.

There's a sinking feeling in Porco's chest. Colt knows. He has to. That's why he's here. He's here to demand Porco tell him the truth and-

"Those fuckers knew," Colt seethes.

It takes Porco a second to stop himself from mindlessly apologizing to register what was said. Did Colt just curse?

"They had the notes. They had every single detail from the previous Wars written and recorded like they were supposed to. They just chose not to share it with the rest of the world. Those Reiss fuckers knew it would inconvenience future Masters, but they didn't care. They allowed all those innocent people to die because they couldn't be bothered to share information they were tasked with keeping!"

"W-wait... All the detail?" Porco asks, trying to wrap his mind around this.

Colt nods. "Even about who each of the Titans were before they became one."

... Huh? Wait. Titans are...?

"Since they were appointed to this position during the 2nd War, they don't have any information about the first one and the original Titans. But aside from that, yeah. They have all the information that they claimed they didn't have."

Does this information also include Kruger...?

Porco gulps. "Can I see it?"

"I'll have to get you permission for it first, but yeah. That's not a problem."


	67. Chance Encounter: Porco and Eren

"You've got to be... What the hell are you doing here?!" Porco exclaims when he spots Kruger.

Kruger dares to look at him shocked. "Erm... I-I'm... not actually here."

Like hell that's anywhere close to believable!

Porco grabs Kruger before the guy dares to hide behind the table. Then he drags Kruger out of the coffee shop and into an alleyway where there's no one around so they can speak frankly.

"What are you doing?" Porco demands. "Do you realize that you're in Marley territory? Why don't you have any sense of danger?"

"I... was waiting for you," Kruger says sheepishly.

When he says it like that, Porco finds it impossible to keep being mad. He slowly forces himself to take a deep breath.

"If it's to apologize for Marcel, that's fine. You've done plenty."

Kruger nods. "I mean, yeah, that, too. But I was hoping that you'd let me kidnap you."

Why doesn't this Titan's Master keep a tighter leash on him? Even if you're an Ackerman or whatever, isn't it only right to make sure one's Titan doesn't go around doing something as ridiculous as kidnapping someone?

"Why the hell would you ever think that I'd let you kidnap me?"

Kruger sighs, looking defeated. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a...

Is that a cake pop?

"You drive a hard bargain. But I have something even you can't resist. It's a chocolate cake pop. Now come with me."

Please someone teach this Titan the etiquette of kidnapping someone... Wait. No. The problem isn't the etiquette. The problem is just how ridiculous this whole situation is.

"The hell you need to kidnap me for anyways?" Porco asks as he takes the cake pop.

"To lure the Armored Titan's Master into a trap."

Gabi...?

Porco snorts. "Then you're targeting the wrong person. Gabi won't give two shits about me getting kidnapped or killed. In fact, she'll cheer for you if you kill me. It makes more sense to go after people closer to her like her mom."

It occurs to him only after those words are out of his mouth that he shouldn't be encouraging the Attack Titan to kidnap innocent bystanders.

"Wait, no. Don't kidnap her mom. That's going to traumatize that poor woman. Go for the dad."

Nailed it.

"Aside from your brother, no one loves you, huh?" Kruger says, shaking his head pityingly at Porco.

"I'll kill you."

Kruger sniggers. "I kid. Don't worry. I have an idea on what to do. I just would have preferred to kidnap you instead, you know?"

"And why exactly would you have preferred that?" Porco asks slowly. But he feels like he already knows the answer to it.

"It would've been the perfect excuse to eat cake pops."

Porco groans. "Is the Survey Corps going to be okay with you?"


	68. Post-Fight: Gabi and Reiner

"Hey Armor, why is the Attack Titan so hard to defeat?" Gabi asks after three hours of failing to come up with a plan to defeat the Attack.

"First off, there's his smoke magic. As long as that's covering any area, there's no way to sneak up on him. And this isn't something I've received confirmation on, but I believe he can predict where you'll move next if you're in his smoke."

"Isn't that way too unfair?" Gabi asks.

The Armored lets out a dry laugh. "But that's not even the worst of it. Even among all the Titans, the Attack has the most amount of magic."

"Is the War rigged in his favor?"

"Sometimes, it does feel like that. But it's actually because our magic is a reflection of how strong we were before we became a Titan. All that happens when we become a Titan is that our magic is amplified to Titan-standards by the Founding Titan."

Gabi makes a face. "I... really messed up by forcing you to fight the Jaw first, didn't I?"

The expression on the Armor's face tells Gabi all she needs to know. Even if Porco was threatening her life, she should have left the Armored be.

"No," the Armored says, most likely to comfort her. "To be honest, I doubt that the Jaw and I together would have been able to stop him. At this point, we'll just have to hope that one of our plans work and that luck is on our side... It's too bad that that seal was lost."

"What seal?" Gabi demands.

"It's what stopped him from moving long enough in the last War to defeat him. If we could have that, we might be able to bring him down."

"Marcel was always researching seals and ways to win the War... Maybe Porco has something we can borrow," Gabi suggests. "I don't know how he'd feel about seeing me again, but it can't hurt. At the very least, as a Warrior, he won't refuse a Warrior Candidate's request."

"Alright. Let's ask him."


	69. Hange's Titan Observation 10

"You what?" Levi demands.

It seems that losing her squad did impact her more than she first let on. She can't be serious. Kenny? She contacted Kenny? Never mind how she got that number, but what the hell was she thinking, calling upon that killer for hire?

"Since you kept mentioning how familiar that lullaby sounded, I figured your uncle might know something about it. But since I don't know how the lullaby goes, I need you to sing for him."

If Moblit was here, he would have stopped her for sure. And perhaps that's what this is. Now that there's no one stopping her, Hange is going full out doing whatever she feels like without considering the consequences. After all, she is the leader of the Survey Corps now. All of their resources (combined with the Military Police and the Garrison) is at her disposal for her whims.

She's most likely planning to die in this upcoming battle.

"I don't know the words, so it won't be singing."

*

Kenny surprises Levi by being quiet for a bit when he hears the lullaby. Then he starts humming along. It shocks Levi enough to be quiet. Kenny doesn't seem to mind. He finishes humming it before laughing.

"That sure takes me back. I didn't think you'd remember it, since you were so young at the time. Kushel used to sing that for you."

"My mother...?"

The words of accusation is at the tip of Levi's tongue. But he holds them back for now.

"Where did she hear it?" Hange asks Kenny.

"From her mom. It's an old lullaby that's been passed down in our family for ages."

Passed down? Huh? Now that he thinks about it, didn't someone once mention that the Ackerman family has been around since before the 1st War? And Eren did react strangely to the name "Ackerman," didn't he?

"I have something else I need to take care of," Levi says.

He dismisses himself from the call.

*

"Eren," Levi calls.

His Titan looks up from sweeping. "Yes?"

The first words almost out of Levi's mouth is an accusation. Eren has to have known. At least he must have suspected something like this. But the minute he thinks to voice those words, he finds himself hesitating.

Does it matter?

Whether Eren is related to the Ackerman family or not, the current situation isn't going to change. They still have one more Master to defeat. Once the War is over, Eren will disappear. And the Attack Titan will continue to fight in these Wars for as long as they go on.

"Who keeps telling you to clean? We have more important things to worry about," Levi says, taking the broomstick out of his Titan's hands.

"I decided to do that myself. No one told me to do it," Eren tells him. "It's boring when you're in meetings."

Levi ruffles his hair. It's not something gross like Hange's claims that Eren is the cutest Titan or anything, mind. It just seems like his Titan deserves a pat, that's all.

"I'm going to miss you when this is all over," Levi admits.

Eren gives him a cheeky grin. "No, you won't. I'm going to make sure to kill you, after all."

"Why do you even bother with that? It's not like killing me is going to..."

_"How many wishes have been granted by the Founding Titan?"_

_"Win every War? Instead of demanding something so unreasonable, why don't you make it so that you will participate in every War?"_

_"It's typically offered to Masters that died during the War. A chance to reclaim their pride of sorts, you know?"_

Levi realizes his naivety. That's why Erwin told him to keep his Command Spell, wasn't it? It wasn't for an emergency case down the road. It was because he suspected that the Master had to face against their Titan for their wish to be granted in the end.

The "Traitorous Attack Titan" suddenly has a different meaning.

"What wish could possibly be worth fighting that many Wars for?" Levi asks.

"There wasn't enough magic for it. Every single time I asked, the Founding Titan apologized and said it was impossible. But in the last War, she was able to manifest herself in this world. That means she'll be able to do it now."

"That didn't answer my question."

Eren hesitates for a second before smiling. "No, I suppose not. I want to create a world where everyone will be free. They will be able to search for their own happiness without worrying about others. No more ties that forces them to play certain roles in society."

Too idealistic. Even if you were to pour magic into it, there's no way to achieve something like that. At least not without first destroying current society as it stands and then replacing it with a violent one. Allowing people to be free to look for their own personal happiness will do nothing but bring about violence and abuse. One person's happiness will surely infringe on another's. And when someone without any ties or rules get to that point, they always resort to violence and dirty means. Levi has seen it too many times to be ignorant of what awaits at the end of Eren's wish.

"I understand where you're coming from. But I believe this to be a better alternative to what we have currently."

Levi doesn't agree. But it doesn't look like his Titan will listen to any counter-arguments, even though he must have seen this very thing unfold in Levi's past through his dreams.

Is that why his previous Master betrayed him and turned that seal on his own Titan? But even if Levi stops Eren here, wouldn't Eren just continue to fight in these Wars until his wish is granted? All Levi would do is push this off to the next Master of the Attack Titan, just as the previous one did to him.

There has to be something else that Levi can do.

Because to believe that there's nothing he can do for Eren but delay this wish is much too tragic.


	70. Post-Fight: The Kidnap Plot

"Falco. I'm glad to see you," Kruger greets.

It's the first time that Kruger greeted Falco first at the coffee shop. Typically, Kruger is lost in thought or too absorbed in the latest sweets to realize that someone is near him. You bet Falco is overjoyed.

"Hello to you, too! Have you been well?"

Kruger smiles. What a relief, Falco thinks. With how much the Survey Corps were involved in battles recently, he feared that Kruger might have been injured or worse. But it looks like Kruger is doing his best to stay alive, even if he refused to promise Falco.

"I've actually been looking for you," Kruger admits.

"For me...?"

Kruger smiles sheepishly. "I suppose that's a bit creepy, coming from an old guy like me."

"N-not at all!" Falco rushes to say. "I was just taken back. It's... rare that someone's looking for me. It's typically my brother they want. Especially recently."

Ah. He probably shouldn't say anything more than that, though.

The smile on Kruger's face looks sad. Did Falco say the wrong thing?

"I... have a favor that I can only ask you to do. You are, of course, more than welcomed to refuse but-"

"I'll do it!" Falco says.

"A-are you sure? I haven't even told you what it is," Kruger reminds him.

Falco grins. "Mr. Kruger is a good person. You won't ask me to do anything weird."

What's that look on Kruger's face? Should Falco not have said that? It looks like he hurt Kruger with those words. But Falco can't imagine how those words would've hurt. Isn't it only natural to trust someone who's been kind?

"Ah... I'm really not cut out for this... Falco, I'm going to kidnap you to make make Gabi come after me."

That... makes no sense. Why would Kruger want Gabi to go after him? Sure, she's one of the best Warrior Candidates, but there are better ways to get Marley's attention.

"Because she's the Mater of the Armored Titan. If I defeat her, the War will be over," Kruger explains.

Yeah, it's not clicking.

"Gabi isn't a Master. Jeesh, Mr. Kruger, you come up with the funniest things!"

"So I'm sorry that it's like this. But I need to make a big enough scene with a lot of witnesses."

The only reason why Falco takes a step back isn't because he's scared. It's just that's a lot of magic swirling around Kruger. And...

Where are the Marleyan mages that patrol through this area so frequently? Where are the Public Security Authorities? The Warriors? There's someone about to use their magic in front of a lot of non-magical civilians. That's clearly a violation of the law. Why isn't anyone doing anything?

It occurs to him belatedly that it must be because the amount of magic Kruger has is abnormally devastating.

Everyone here is too terrified to face against Kruger's magic.

The prestigious Marley that Falco has always idealized seems so flimsy now.

*

Colt is interrupted in the middle of going over the files confiscated from the Reiss family with Porco (who finally received permission to look through these) by an urgent message. Despite it sounding like something that should be taken private, Colt opts to let Porco listen in.

After all, with both Marcel and Magath gone, the two of them are really the only two old enough to take the reins of control in terms of the Warrior Division, which somehow translates to the rest of Marley.

"We've received word from the Survey Corps. They're... They've taken a hostage and is demanding the last remaining Master to come attack them."

Erwin Smith must be dead, if this is the best they could come up with.

"If they're trying to get our support with that, then they're sadly mistaken," Colt says, shaking his head in disgust. "Kidnapping someone, really? That's what the great Survey Corps have resorted to?"

"The person they kidnapped... it's your brother."


	71. Levi's Dream Diary 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

It's that lullaby again.

But this time, Levi isn't on the hill. He's in what looks to be a medical ward of sorts. On the uncomfortable looking cot in front of him, there's a woman whose face has been obscured by a white sheet. Even without turning to look, Levi knows that the rest of the cots are all filled with similar sights.

There's a man next to Levi with his head bowed. Levi didn't see it, but he knows that this man has been crying until a short while ago. It looks like the man just said something, because the lullaby stops.

"Dad, it wasn't your fault."

Levi doesn't think those are the words he should have said. Rather, it's that he knows what happens to the man after this that he wishes he said something different.

Why didn't he know something better to say? Why couldn't he have said something to save this grieving man?

Why is he so damned powerless?

*

Jean must have said something Eren disagreed with again. Levi feels a vehement anger in the pit of his stomach. They fight often, don't they? Levi wonders what Jean says that pisses Eren off so much.

"Why are you so damned stupid? That isn't how this works! That isn't how any of this works!"

Eren lets out a loud groan, clearly interrupting Jean's counter argument. That serves to make Jean roll his eyes.

Do these two ever do anything that isn't fighting?

*

"Eren!"

Oh. It's rare to be able to hear other people's words. Levi wonders what it is about this tall and lanky guy that makes it easy to remember his words. Wait. Is it because this person is Eren's Master? Then why can't Eren remember Jean's words? Because Jean betrayed him?

... Was Jean not Eren's Master?

"Look! The flowers are growing quite well."

"Are these...?" Levi begins hesitantly.

The man smiles. "Yes. It's the ones that we planted last year."

Last year? How many years has Eren been summoned for? Oh. Is this the War that spanned for a ridiculously long time?

"It would be nice if you could stay. Past the War, I mean."

Eren laughs, surprising Levi. "You don't find that too cruel? Forcing a tool of murder like a Titan to stay in this kind of a peace?"

"O-oh! I-I'm so sorry. I didn't even consider-"

"No, I'm teasing," Levi says. "It's impossible, but yeah. That would be nice."

"Well... it's not _completely_ impossible..."

Levi gives the man a sharp look. "Don't waste your wish. You have things that you want granted, don't you?"

It looks like the man wants to say something more, but he seems to know Eren enough to hold his tongue. Instead, he looks back at the flowers.

"Should we plant more for next year?" he asks instead.

"Do you have any pink flowers?" Levi asks. "I don't care what kind. Just that it's pink."

"Let's look for some when we go to the market tomorrow."

*

"You can come with me," Levi says.

He wraps a red scarf around Mikasa who looks to be a young child in this dream. She slowly tilts her head down as she stares at the scarf, her eyes beginning to water. It's possible that she said something in response, but Levi cannot hear it. He has already turned around, ready to leave.

He hears the lullaby start up.

Without looking back to see whether Mikasa is following, Levi makes his way down the mountain, humming all the while.

*

The beefy blonde cradles a bloody child's body close to himself. Levi won't be shocked if that child has long been dead.

It looks like the beefy blonde is saying something that Levi can't hear. Whatever he's saying, though, it's enough to make Eren second-guess himself. Well, with the bloodied room filled with corpses of children as it is, Levi has a good guess as to what is being said.

"Reiner, you're not the only one that lost someone."

Levi doesn't hear the response. But from the sneer on Reiner's face, it's fair to assume it's something insulting.

"And?" Levi feels his lips curl into a smirk. "What are you going to do about it? Your Titan is dead. The next War isn't for another 300 years. With your magic, it won't be possible to elongate your life that long."

He shouldn't have said that.

Reiner holds his hand out and says something that Levi cannot hear. But he understands without hearing anything the desperation in Eren's heart that begs Reiner to stop.

This is how it's done, Levi realizes.

This is how a Master switches place with their Titan.

*

When Levi wakes up, he finds himself making his way to where his Titan is in the kitchen. Eren is being scolded by Falco about sneaking too much sugar into the breakfast. That's right. Now that Levi Squad members are no longer around, no one stops Eren from putting however much sugar into their food.

Levi probably should have stopped Eren before he developed that habit.

"Honestly! You're supposed to keep your captive well-fed, not hyped on sugar! Don't you have any kidnapping etiquette?" Falco complains.

"I-isn't it weirder for someone to have etiquette for this?" Eren protests. "How often do you get kidnapped that you know something like that anyways?!"

"Eren, my tea," Levi interrupts before the bullying gets any further.

Falco straightens and immediately retreats into his shell. He gives Levi an awkward nod and keeps himself partially hidden behind the table. Still not feeling friendly to anyone that isn't Eren, huh? Despite having been kidnapped by the Titan, Falco seems the warmest with him.

"Here you go," Eren says, placing the tea cup carefully in front of Levi.

"Thanks."

The tea is brewed just the way Levi likes it. He assumes it's because Eren saw Levi's past often enough to know. It seems like a shame to let someone who knows how to brew the perfect tea go.

But that's not something he should voice.

"Any word on movement?"

"None as of yet."

Levi nods and glances at Falco. "Kid, your role will be over as soon as the Armored Titan arrives. Personally, I recommend leaving once we start fighting. I believe Floch has already shown you the exit?"

"Y-yes sir," Falco says quietly. "B-but I... I will not leave without Gabi."

That's a good look in his eyes. It's much better than the eyes filled with fear when he first arrived.

"That's fine by me. Just make sure not to get in our way. We can't guarantee either of your safeties if you do that."

Falco nods determinedly.

Too bad he's already a Warrior Candidate. He would have made a great Survey Corps member.

Then again, would Survey Corps still be standing after this? Hange looks like she plans to die in this upcoming fight. Levi has no intention of taking over. To be honest, he doesn't think there's anyone that can take over. It's not just the Survey Corps either.

The Garrison has more or less been destroyed with Pixis gone. The heads of the Military Police have all been mysteriously killed, and with Nile dead, there's not much the Military Police will be able to do from here. Marley seems to be scrambling to hang in there, but if they were to jump in to rescue Falco, who knows how many more will die?

It's quite possible that this War will force them to change how the current mage society works.

Well, if it happens, it happens. He shouldn't worry about the future before the current battle has been won.


	72. Final Clash 1

It is early in the afternoon when the Armored Titan rams its body into the headquarter of the Survey Corps. The airship yard wasn't built for that kind of physical abuse. It gives out, leaving a giant hole where the Armored walked in.

No shock, there's a red glow before a web of spells interlocks around the Armor. The first round of traps, huh?

The Armored experimentally flexes for a second before swinging its arm. The web of spells shatter and disappears.

Turns out, it doesn't even need Marley as its back up.

But Colt freaked when he realized who has been taken hostage. He put out the word that Marley will help whoever the Master is.

And Gabi stepped forward.

They all know that this is a trap. Kind of hard not to. But it's harder to look away and pretend that this isn't his problem when Porco's the one who suggested to Kruger to kidnap someone else. Colt wanted to come along with this mission obviously. But since it's clearly a trap, they convinced him to stand by as back up. So Colt has until then to come up with another strategy to save Falco in the meanwhile.

"There's no sign of life, but there's magical activity heading towards us."

"The Attack Titan?" Porco asks.

"No. Too little magic to be a Titan or a mage. If I had to make a guess, it might be a puppet."

Porco scowls. "They sure know how to throw a welcome party, don't they? Alright! The goal is to make sure that the Armored Titan can freely take on the Attack without worrying about the hostage or any of us. If it looks like you're going to die, just die."

With his order given to the Marleyan mages gathered, he turns to Gabi.

"Your priority is?"

"Grab Falco and run."

Porco nods. "If you die, it's all over. So don't worry about anything else. We'll take care of it."

And to make sure that everything will be fine, he used the memory stone to see Marcel's memory of the seal again and again. He has it prepared and ready to go for when things go horrifically wrong. As long as someone uses that chance to kill the Master of Survey Corps, they should be able to get out of this as the victors.

This would have been so much easier if Marcel was here.

But thinking like that isn't going to help anyone. 

Taking a deep breath, Porco leads the charge.


	73. Final Clash 2

"Looks like they took the bait," Hange says with a relieved smile. "Eren, if you will?"

The Attack Titan nods in affirmation before taking on his Titan form. And man, what a shame. To think that after this fight, she will never have the opportunity to experiment on a Titan again.

"Your thoughts are written all over your face," Levi remarks.

Hange can only laugh sheepishly in hopes that he doesn't push more than that.

For just a second, she thinks that he's going to point out that she left a will. That he will accuse her of running with this fight.

But he doesn't.

Is it because he also understands? If so, then she doesn't get why he continues to fight on like this.

Well, no use thinking about useless things now. Levi can figure out his own life on his own time. Slowly, once this battle is over.

After all, it's practically guaranteed that the Survey Corps will win.

*

The puppets are annoying, but nothing too difficult to handle. It's clear that this is to distract them from something. But due to the sheer amount of puppets attacking them, it's hard to focus on what exactly that might be.

Just as Porco thinks that, they hear the roar of the Attack Titan.

Then it's as if a switch has flipped.

The Armored Titan turns its attention solely to the Attack. It completely ignores the puppets and makes a beeline.

"H-hey! What are you doing? That's clearly a trap!" Porco yells.

He can't tell if the Armored is purposefully ignoring him or is too focused to hear anything. Damn it. The Attack Titan is the one who gave the Titan stopping seal to Marcel. There's a good chance that the seal is waiting for the Armored if it follows the Attack's lead.

Of all the uselessly single-tracked Titan to get, why the hell did Gabi get the Armor?

"We need to follow after him!" Porco yells to the rest of the Marleyan forces.

But who can afford to do that when everyone has their hands full on keeping the puppets back? Damn it. Porco didn't think this through. If only Marcel was here...

He shakes his head.

That's not going to help anyone right now.

"Three mages follow after me. Everyone else, make a path for us. The four of us will go after the Armor."


	74. Final Clash 3

The trap isn't as bad as Porco feared, but only because he expected the seal to prevent the Armor's movements. But the situation is pretty bad.

There's non-stop bombardments of spells on all sides. It's almost as effective as the seal in stopping the Armored from moving forward. But Porco doubts that's going to last from the way Armored is tentatively taking slow steps forward. Jeesh, Titans are so damned scary.

"I'm going to prepare a spell," Porco tells the small group of mages that followed him here. Then he pauses. Why the hell is Gabi...?

"I thought maybe they'd have Falco here," comes the response to his unasked question.

Damn it. Is it so hard for her to understand that they can't afford to lose her?

Porco closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. She is a kid, yes. But she is still a Warrior Candidate. He has no right to knock her down when he knows how rigorous the test is to become one is. Didn't he always feel upset that Marcel never trusted him on missions? Then isn't the least he can do to trust her?

"Okay. Then here's the plan. I'm going to cast a seal that will stop the Attack Titan's movements. There's a possibility that this might end up freezing the Armor, too. So everyone else, before that moment, find the Attack's Master and kill him."

"Until then, protect you, right?"

Porco nods.

*

Hange frowns. "What's that magical signature? It seems similar to the one from the apartment gas leak... Alright. We're going to switch our focus over there."

"Is it fine to leave the Armored to Attack?" Floch asks.

"It's not like you'd be any help here," Levi tells them. "Go."

There's a look that he gives Hange that she makes a point to ignore.

"It's our last battle, guys! Let's go out with a bang!"


	75. Final Clash 4

Standing in the backline to cast a seal is really not Porco's look. It's clear even to Gabi that he's getting distracted by the lack of damage the mages of Marley are doing against the sudden onslaught of spells from the Survey Corps. At this rate, he's never going to be able to cast because he got too distracted.

As the Master of the Armored Titan, Gabi needs to pull her own weight.

She won't do anything too crazy. Porco made a big deal about her not getting killed, probably because he thinks that she'll waste her wish for the sake of Marley. Of course, she won't. She chose to participate in this War in order to help her family. If they wanted Marley to win the War, they should have done a better job.

And that's when she spots him.

Levi Ackerman, the Master of the Attack Titan.

He looks like he's focused on the fight of the two Titans while the rest of his people are taking care of the rest of Marleyan forces. And wow. Isn't that nice? He gets to watch while everyone else is fighting with their lives on the line. All because he summoned first and got the strongest Titan.

Without doing any work, he thinks he can win this War?

Well, Gabi is a Warrior Candidate. She had to fight since she was a small child to earn her place at the top as one of Marley's best. She has scars and broken bones from the hard work she had to do. And unlike the other kids, she was constantly knocked down by the scoffing, "Oh, but you're a Braun."

Someone from a special mage family like "Ackerman" would never understand how hard her life was.

"Gabi? It is you! Hurry! Come this way!" Falco yells.

"Falco?"

He must have escaped from the hostage situation by himself. Heh. That's right. That's the power of a Warrior Candidate. If Falco can do that, then Gabi most definitely can kill that Levi.

Among the mages, there's an unspoken rule.

Magic does not mix with modern technology and weaponry. Gabi doesn't know when this rule was established or why. But she knows without a doubt that it's stupid. Why wouldn't you use every tool available to you?

But because of this stupid rule, her family has come under fire and ridicule.

So she'll prove to everyone right now that her family wasn't stupid.

Look. She's going to win this War.

Auntie Karina got her a handgun when she became a Warrior Candidate.

Let her show everyone just how well she can use it.


	76. Final Clash 5

It happens before Porco can finish the seal.

The crack of the Armor's protected neck. The Attack Titan's triumphant roar that signals the end of the battle.

Porco was too late. Or was it that the Attack Titan was too strong and the Armored had no chance to begin with? He feels bitter. He feels like he had his one chance to prove himself snatched away from under him. If only the Armored was stronger... But the minute he thinks like that, he can't help but to feel that he's probably overestimating himself.

This is the furthest they'll get.

That's what he needs to learn from this.

He lets out a sigh and allows himself to fall to his butt.

"We lost. Sorry, Marcel."

His words are overshadowed by a loud noise that he doesn't immediately recognize. What was that? Did something explode? Was it a stray spell? What...?

And then he sees it.

The Master of the Survey Corps on the ground, a pool of blood around him. But what brought him down? Porco scans the area and spots...

That's Gabi. That's Gabi, and Falco looks to be staring at her, pale. Because that in Gabi's hands is...

Huh?

Why is she holding a modern weapon? As a Warrior Candidate, shouldn't she know better? Is this because of her family's influence? But shouldn't her pride as a mage stop her from doing something as obscene as listen to her family? Isn't that why she was chosen to be a Warrior Candidate? Because she was better than her family?

By the time the disgust at the thought of a mage using a non-magical weapon hits Porco, the situation must have sunk in for everyone else. The Attack Titan's roar sends a chill down Porco's spine. With that single sound, Porco understands that none of them will be getting out of here alive.

The Attack Titan is primarily a smoke magic user. That means he prioritizes on taking control of his surroundings by releasing a thick smoke that he uses to his advantage. Actual physical fighting and magic casting comes afterwards. So it only goes to show how devastated the Attack Titan was at the sight of its Master on the ground, covered in blood.

Without hesitation, it lashes out with a blast of magic aimed at Gabi.

Porco is too far away to be able to run to Gabi's side to help her. But Falco is standing right there. He takes the brunt of the blast by shielding Gabi. From where Porco is, he guesses that Falco has been knocked out and is possibly heavily injured.

It sounds like Gabi is yelling something at the Attack, but Porco can't pay attention to that anymore. He can't lose anymore time.

If he doesn't move, the Attack Titan will surely kill those two children and then demolish the rest of them in its rage. So before destruction becomes set as their future, Porco needs to cast this seal.

Good thing he more or less prepared it already.

*

What's all this shouting about?

Shit. He was just shot, damn it. Can't they shut up so he can have two second of peace?

"Levi?" Hange asks, nudging him with her dirty boot. "If you're not dead, do something about Eren."

He's bleeding out. Can't she help with that before demanding he does things? Jeesh, and he thought that Erwin was a slave driver.

Slowly, Levi pushes himself up into a sitting position and takes in the situation. The girl that shot him is cradling Falco, who looks to be unconscious. But Levi does note that Falco got treatment (At least Hange has her priority straight). The rest of the people seems uneasily standing around, sticking mainly to their respective groups.

Then there's Eren.

He's still in his Titan form, howling and roaring in clear frustration. Levi recognizes the seal around him, even if he doesn't know that magic signature. It's the same seal that locked out Eren's magic and prevented him from moving against the bombardment of attacks from the other Titans in the last War. The one that Jean invented that Eren had been sure wouldn't be able to hold a Titan. For it to be here like this when Eren didn't remember the components of the seal... Most likely, Eren gave the knowledge of the seal away so that no one in the Survey Corps could use it against him.

But it's been casted against him yet again despite that.

"The one who casted is from Marley called Porco Galliard. It looks like he's struggling to hold the seal in place, so we can't really ask him," Hange informs him.

"He won't be able to say anything more. Right now, that body is just a shell that's anchoring the seal to this world. That seal requires the caster to give up their life. We won't be getting any information from him," Levi says.

Hange stares at him for a second before looking away, clicking her tongue. Good thing she obsessively reads those Dream Diaries. Levi doesn't have to waste any more time to explain anything more than that.

"Hey, the War should be over, right?" Levi asks. "The Armored Titan isn't here. That means that I've won."

"Yeah, that's what I'd assume," Hange agrees.

Then the only reason the War doesn't seem to be over is because the person who'll have their wish granted between the Master or the Titan hasn't been determined yet.

So all Levi has to do is kill Eren.

In this situation, where Eren has been betrayed by the same thing yet again, Levi is going to kill Eren.

Isn't that too sad?

Eren will end up betrayed for the second time in a row. He'll have the wish he so desperately fought for snatched from him yet again in the most bitter fashion. Would he be able to enjoy his wish if it were to ever come true, if this is how he must always suffer?

It's probably because Levi saw so much of Eren's past that he's hesitating like this. Levi can't recall the last time he felt this much compassion for a target. Or maybe it's because Levi himself is bleeding out? Moving to kill someone sounds like it'll take quite a lot more energy than he has right now.

"Eren," Levi calls.

It can barely be heard over the Attack Titan's anguished roars. Yeah, yeah. Levi gets it. Eren was betrayed. He's hurt. Levi can feel it taking root in his heart.

According to logic, there's no way that Levi humming the lullaby would be heard if him calling for Eren couldn't. But there's a link between a Master and his Titan. Even if Eren blocks out the rest of the world in his anger, he will hear Levi.

It takes some time. But eventually, the Attack Titan calms. He probably wants to see Levi, so Levi makes sure to stay in his line of sight.

"Eren," Levi calls again. "It's okay. You can stop now. It's over."

There's a crackle of golden magic around Eren that fizzles out into smoke. The Titan form disappears, leaving Eren in his human form. Has he been crying? He looks so fragile, held by the seal like this.

Levi carefully (slowly. He's still bleeding out. Isn't anyone going to help him with that?) makes his way to his Titan. He reaches up and roughly ruffles Eren's hair.

"You're such a troublemaker, you know that?"


	77. Conclusion of the War

What place is this?

There's nothing but sand beneath him. And above him stretches a night sky that Levi has never seen before. In the distance, there seems to be a bright light in the shape of a tree.

"This is the Paths. I told you about it before, do you remember?"

Levi glances to the side, where Eren is staring off at the bright light.

"The place where Titans reside while waiting for the next War, right?" Levi says.

Eren nods. He finally looks to Levi. "Congratulations. You're the victor of the 6th War. That's the Founding Titan right there. If you speak your wish out loud, she'll grant it for you."

At first, Levi thinks that Eren is pointing at the tree. But then he spots a small figure by the tree. That's the Founding Titan? Can she really hear Levi's wish if he speaks it out loud at this great of a distance? It's probably some magic thing.

"Oh, right. Time here works differently. So you can take as long as you need to come up with the perfect phrasing for your wish. After you make your wish, only about a second or so should have passed from when the War ended."

"I thought you would be bitter that you lost," Levi says.

Eren makes a face. "I am. But it's not like getting mad at you is going to change the results. Yeah, it sucks. But I can wait for another War."

It isn't Levi's business.

He won the War as he promised Erwin when he first joined the Survey Corps. All that's left is to make Erwin's wish come true. Then he'll go back to reality. He'll probably take a vacation or something. Go somewhere quiet and live out the rest of his life or what have you on the money Erwin promised him. He doesn't have any obligation to stay with the Survey Corps once the War is over. So he'll just go back to what he was doing before he met Erwin.

Whatever he decides to do, the future does not involve any more Titans or this stupid War. He can put all of this behind him as something from a dream. Something that he'll never be involved with.

So yeah, it isn't his business at all.

But he gets involved anyways.

"Eren, are you going to wait for the next War to have your wish granted?" Levi asks.

"I mean, what other choice do I have? At the very least, I have the luxury to keep waiting. You only have this chance."

For someone who claims to be bitter, he seems pretty nonchalant.

"Yes. There's just this chance..."

*

Erwin's wish will benefit mage society as a whole. Of that, Levi has no doubts. He read the carefully worded script over and over again so that he would have it memorized to say it to the Founding Titan if he is the victor. So it's not the question of needing time to find the right words.

It's just... now that he has seen so much of Eren's past, he feels that this is wrong.

The reason why Erwin wishes to get rid of generation circuitry is understandable. There aren't many older mage families left to begin with, and they refuse to mingle and mix their blood. But why is that?

It's because of these Wars.

Those with the best magic and circuitry will doubtlessly join in to have a wish granted or be chosen to represent their respective group. And because that's how Wars work, majority if not all will perish. If unlucky, their families will get caught up in it and get wiped out, too. Like the Tyburs did this time.

Then it stands to reason that with every iteration of a War, more and more capable mage families will be wiped out.

Sure, with Erwin's wish, Levi will be able to make it so that every mage ever born will all have the opportunity to be a great mage regardless of their generation. But there wouldn't be a need for something like that if all the established mage families don't get wiped out every three hundred years.

Thought of like that, isn't there a better wish that Levi can make?

But if he were to voice that out loud, Eren would...

"What? You need me to brainstorm with you? I thought Erwin gave you a script," Eren says when he realizes that Levi is staring.

"Yes, he did. But I have a different wish in mind," Levi says.

Eren laughs. "Biting the hand that feeds you, huh? Let me tell you upfront that she can't bring back the dead."

Levi gets the feeling that it was the first thing Eren asked for.

"I wish that the Great Titan War or anything that resembles it never happens again."

Eren's expression is blank. Then it must have sunk in because he reaches forward and grabs Levi by the front of his shirt. Levi is more than used to having angry people tower over him like this. But it hurts just a tad that it's Eren.

"Why would you do that?! How could you-"

He doesn't need to hear the rest of Eren's anger to know that this is yet another betrayal in the long line of betrayals Eren has received. He doesn't need to have seen Eren's grief-stricken eyes, hear Eren's voice trembling with emotion.

What he did was beyond cruel.

But he's certain that this will be better for Eren than continuously fighting in this damned War for a glimmer of getting his wish granted.

He did the correct thing.

*

Levi blinks.

Hange is going on about the wish, about how important it is that Levi follows the script that Erwin prepared. The aftermath of the battle is still before him. As Eren promised, it seems to have only been seconds that he was in Paths.

"How do you think the wishes work?" Hange wonders, giggling happily. "Does a door open? Or maybe you'll be summoned there? Kinda like how we summoned a Titan! Ah, I can't wait to see it!"

Levi decides to keep quiet about his wish for now.


	78. Hange's Final Titan Observation

The following observation relies heavily on the memories received by the Sixth Great Titan War's Master of the Attack Titan. Therefore, it will focus on the Attack Titan. This is not meant to be a chronicle of the Great Titan Wars. For that, please refer to the previous anthology series.

Before he was the Attack Titan, he was "Eren" from an unknown mage family.

His mother was killed by a plague that ravaged the lands. His father died shortly after, quite likely due to having contracted it himself. Eren was placed in the care of the King's soldiers along with the other orphans from the plague. It is quite likely that the family line "Ackerman" actually refers to all the orphans who were taken in at the time.

Some time while he was here, he befriended Mikasa and Armin. Armin became friendly with the General's daughter, Annie. This doubtlessly was met with opposition. In order to earn approval, Eren most likely joined the King Fritz's War Games. 

This was most likely the first iteration of the Great Titan War. As there are little to no information or memories from that time, this is a conjecture at best. But most likely, Armin participated as the Colossal Titan with Mikasa his Master. Eren was there as a decoy to pull the attention off of Mikasa. This was probably the tactic they employed to get past the General and his daughter, who played the Female Titan. Then in the last fight, Mikasa probably came under heavy fire, forcing her to transfer the position of Master to Eren. That is the only explanation this humble observer could come up with as to why none of their voices could be heard in the memories. 

It is quite likely that Mikasa was killed in that fight. But the Founding Titan could not bring back the dead. Thus, Eren must have arrived upon the conclusion to ask for a utopia of his own imagining. This wish was rejected due to the Founding Titan's limited magic. 

Having no other choice, the only thing Eren could have wished for at that juncture was to repeat this War as many times as needed for her magic to replenish enough to grant him his wish. Although there's no written proof of this, but from Eren's jokes, it was probably the deaths of countless mages during the span of a War that was fuel for the Founding Titan. To make sure that she had enough magic quickly, Eren had no choice but to drench himself in the blood of countless innocents. 

The record from the Reiss family writes an unknown mage by the name of Eren was the Master of the Attack Titan for the Second War. Unfortunately, the Reiss Family was not used to keeping records at this time and most of what happened during this War is left blank. Thankfully, there's a memory of a conversation between Eren and his Titan that might serve to fill the gap. The Titan convinced Eren that there is only one guaranteed way to secure a place in the future Wars: become a Titan. 

Whether this resulted in the ability for Masters to take the place of their Titan or for Titans to have a chance to have their wish granted is unknown. But they're both good guesses as to what Eren might have wished for.

Eren thus became the Attack Titan starting in the Third Great War. He was summoned by the mage Bertolt Hoover, who worked at an orphanage. His colleague, Reiner Braun, summoned the Armored Titan. These two tag-teamed the rest of the Masters and cleared the way for their victory. However, they could not finish the other, forcing the War to come to a halt for ten years. In the end, Bertolt snapped and gave the Attack Titan the order with his Command Spell to win the War. According to the records from the Reiss Family, Reiner killed Bertolt at the same time the Attack Titan killed the Armor, thus causing a draw for this War.

The Fourth War does not seem too important to the Attack Titan. But it is the War that set up all the pieces for the War of Suppression (such as the public dissent, establishment of the Goddess Ymir religion, and the War Hero Helos' tragic back story, which can all be found in the previous anthology), so it can't be said to be unimportant. It is, however, unimportant to the Attack Titan's story.

In the Fifth War, the Attack Titan was summoned to a mage by the name of Sasha Braus. But the person that reoccurs in Eren's memories was a mage by the name of Jean. Jean created a seal that can hold a Titan still in exchange for the caster's life. Most likely due to disagreeing with the Attack Titan's end goal, Jean betrayed him and casted that seal to allow for the other Titans to kill him.

As for the Sixth and the Final War...

*

Hange sighs and rubs the back of her neck. That's not it. That's not how she wanted to capture this.

With an annoyed groan, she crumbles up the paper and throws it into the waste bin along with the rest of her attempts. Then she glares at the fresh empty page before her. 

Maybe a talk with Levi will help clear her mind.


	79. Post-War

The years pass surprisingly quickly when you're trying to rebuild society.

Levi ends up staying with the Survey Corps at Hange's request. The Military Police and the Garrison have both long been merged into it. But Hange doesn't manage it any more. Floch takes care of that. Instead, Hange has taken the Reiss Family reports about the previous Wars to continue her studies on Titans, even though there won't be any more Wars. They sometimes meet up at a bar where she tells him all the stories that she found and prompts him for whatever he recalls from Eren's dreams.

As for Marley, they're not as strict as they used to be. But they're still a nuisance as always. It sounds like Falco's older brother has main control over the logistics behind running it. But their head from years ago is still causing headaches for him.

Sometimes, it catches Levi off-guard that it has been ten years since he single-handedly rid the world of the Great Titan Wars from ever happening again.

The coffee shop that the Attack Titan used to go moved to a bigger location. Eventually, that entire shopping district was closed and demolished to create this park as "memorial" for all those lost in the last War, not that any non-magical civilians would realize the truth.

Levi likes to come here at times and sit at the bench.

If he comes early afternoon before the schools let out on a weekday, it's quiet and peaceful. He can enjoy the sun while humming that lullaby.

A sharp pain in his calf interrupts him. He turns to look and pauses.

Angry green eyes are locked onto Levi with an accompanying charmless grin. And for just a second, Levi is taken to a time a long ago in an airship yard.

_"Oh, I'm going to enjoy ripping you to shreds."_

"Hey old man, buy me a crepe," the owner of the green eyes demand.

Levi blinks. The memory of that time is shattered by the pouty child before him. The child has his arms crossed and is glaring at Levi as if daring him to refuse.

"And pray tell me, why would I do that for an uncute brat?" Levi asks.

The child's lips twitch into a snarl. "Because gross old farts like you who spend all day at the park clearly only have one thing on their mind. So I'll teach you a-"

Someone clears their throat.

"N-not that person! I meant that one," a shy looking blonde boy says, tugging on the green-eyed child's shirt.

An oriental girl gives Levi a small apologetic dip of the head. "Sorry for bothering you."

Levi stares at the retreating trio for a second longer.

Slowly, he allows the corners of his lips to curve up into a smile. Oh, that's clever of the Founding Titan. He didn't even consider this possibility. She cannot bring back the dead, but she never said anything about... 

Perhaps this time, they'll be able to achieve their wish.

No.

That's not right.

This time, they will have a guardian angel (a Titan of sorts, if he really wants to force the analogy) who will watch over them until their wish comes true. This time, they will not have to sacrifice anything for that wish.

Levi stands up from the bench to help the kids confront this creepy old geezer.

_Fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hange stares at the three kids eating crepes next to Levi on the park bench. It's weird enough to see Levi be social enough to share his bench. But it kind of looks like the kids are talking to him? But that can't be.
> 
> Levi's a sourpuss who can't stand social things. That's why he's called the "Grumpy old man" by everyone (by everyone, Hange means herself).
> 
> "So... do I need to call the cops?" she asks lightly as she walks towards them.
> 
> "Huh? Shitty Four Eyes, you don't recognize them?"
> 
> Hange frowns. "Don't curse in front of children. And recognize? ... Oh! Aren't you the little brother of the Master of the Beast Titan? Shoot. I don't remember what any of their actual names are."
> 
> Levi opens his mouth and then closes it wordlessly. Then he shrugs.
> 
> "Your loss, I guess."
> 
> "W-why is it my loss? What?! Did I get it wrong? Levi, don't just laugh!"


End file.
